The Cleveland Cavaliers announced on Wednesday afternoon that James Harden fractured his thumb in Tuesday's 109-94 win over the Knicks. The team added that he "will undergo treatment and continued evaluation" and that the guard will be listed as questionable for tonight's game against the Bucks.
Hey, that's a good sign!
This isn't the news that fans wanted, not with the Cavaliers going 6-1 with Harden in the lineup, falling only to the reigning NBA champions. Cleveland is fighting to stay in the top four in the East and secure home-court advantage. No Harden could close the 2.5-game gap between the Cavs and the No. 5 Raptors.
But let's try not to spiral too much about what this will mean for Cleveland, as we should have a better understanding of the injury in the coming hours. What fans do know is that the fracture is in his non-shooting hand, so he can return to action much sooner (if he does miss time) than if it were in his left hand.
James Harden Injury News: The thumb is made up of 2 phalanges. Harden’s break involves the distal phalanx (tip of the thumb) & is non-displaced. This is a best case scenario for a quick return. Players to suffer this injury & avoid surgery miss an average of 6.5 games (~17 days).
— Jeff Stotts (@InStreetClothes) February 25, 2026
James Harden injury update gives Cavaliers a silver lining
Cleveland traded Darius Garland, who played 26 games this season, for Harden, who played 44 during the first half of the season. The hope was to give the Cavaliers a point guard who, although older, was more likely to be available for the postseason.
It feels like a string of bad injury luck is haunting the Cavs, but it doesn't seem like it will affect the star point guard in the playoffs, which are still over a month away. If this is the worst injury scare that Cleveland will have with Harden, then so be it. Let's just hope it stays that way.
Harden missing a few games now is a better alternative than missing them a month from now. It would be nice for him to continue building chemistry with his new teammates, but he's done a pretty good job of it in a short time. The unexpected rest could serve the 36-year-old, too.
Now, there's no need for Harden to play tonight in Milwaukee; it'd be better to have him on Friday when the Cavaliers travel to Detroit, if there's a chance he can play in that game. Clearly, that is within the realm of possibility, at least right now, or else Cleveland would've already ruled him out for the matchup against the Bucks.
Your heart probably dropped when you first read the update that Harden fractured his thumb, but as you can see, it's not nearly as bad as it seems.
UPDATE: Shams Charania reported on ESPN that James Harden will play through the injury. How about that?