James Harden’s New Injury Isn't As Bad as Cavaliers Fans Feared

Cavaliers guard James Harden suffered a fracture on his right thumb during Cleveland’s win over the Knicks on Tuesday. Here is how this injury could impact the Cavs rotation moving forward

Feb 24, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) celebrates with forward Dean Wade (32) during the second half against the New York Knicks at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

James Harden sustained a non-displaced fracture of his right thumb, and is currently questionable for Wednesday night's game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

During the course of the Cavaliers 109-94 routing of the New York Knicks, Harden injured his thumb. It is worth noting that this injury did not inhibit Harden’s ability to finish the New York Knicks game.

The injury itself is not considered to be severe whatsoever. With a non-displaced fracture, Harden’s bone is still aligned, and hasn’t shifted. According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the injury will not require surgery and Harden will be able to continue playing on.

So long as he doesn’t aggravate the injury or displace the fracture, it should be a pain management and prevention issue only.

How will the Cavs handle the injury?

Based on Harden’s questionable status for tonight’s game it feels safe to say that the Cavaliers are not planning on being without Harden for an extended period of time.

After sustaining the injury during the Knicks game, Harden opted to wrap the thumb and play through the injury.

Another important tidbit is that Harden shoots with his left hand, meaning this injury is unlikely to disrupt his shooting motion. Had his shooting hand been injured, he would’ve been more likely to miss time.

This is why the expectation is Harden will continue to wrap the fractured thumb and play through the injury. 

While the newly acquired Harden is still anxious to get as many games in as possible with his new Cavalier teammates, it would be wise of the Cavaliers to exercise caution with Harden until his injury heals.

Losing a star like Harden, just as he is gaining momentum with his new teammates, would be a huge blow to the Cavaliers and their own momentum as the regular season winds down.

Should Harden displace (or otherwise aggravate) this fracture while trying to play through such an injury the Cavaliers would have to brace for his potential absence for quite some time.

Finding the middle ground

If you can cautiously rest Harden for a few games every now and then, like tonight against the Bucks, then the injury should be at least somewhat healed by the playoffs.

In back to backs, and other games on short rest for the remainder of the season, expect Harden to rest or play a very sparse share of minutes.

While Harden reportedly insists on playing through the injury, expect the Cavs medical team to attempt to somewhat restrict him.