The Cavs star notably decided to play the remainder of the 2025-26 season with the Cavs without undergoing medical procedure in his right thumb.
Despite enduring a thumb injury, James Harden stands steadfast to keep pushing through this 2025-26 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James Harden
James Harden
James Harden
MIN: 35.01
PTS: 24.46 (57.83%)
REB: 4.87
AS: 8.12
ST: 1.21
BL: 0.4
TO: 3.65
GM: 52
The star guard isn't considering a potential surgery out of the timeframe he could miss.
“That’s too much time out,” Harden told Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor. “Thought about playing last game. Thought about playing in Milwaukee. There’s going to be some discomfort, so just figuring out ways to fight through.
"Got no other choice.”
Harden reportedly sustained a non-displaced fracture in his right thumb. Given that the injury isn't in his left shooting hand, the 2018 MVP opted to play through the pain.
He went on to miss the last two games for the Cavs, but he returned to action on Sunday to pace the Cavaliers' 106-102 road win over the Brooklyn Nets with 22 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
The Cavaliers turned it up upon acquiring Harden from the LA Clippers during the past trade deadline. With the future Hall of Famer on their side, Cleveland is now in serious discussion for a potential title run later this season.
With the win over the Nets, the Cavs have gone 7-1 already with Harden in their lineup.
“Just love to play basketball — even without the money,” Harden said. “Basketball is something that we do and it’s a safe place. As you get better and start studying the game and learning more and get comfortable and then you keep getting better and better at it, it’s the same with anything, you just get addicted to it.
“I’m blessed to be able to play in this league for as long as I have and I’m still doing it at a high level. Even now, as I’ve gotten older ... I always felt like that when I was younger, but even now I do realize I have a few more years left to play basketball, so want to definitely cherish them and not have any regrets playing.”
Like what we are doing? You can express your gratitude here.
If you like our content, please click here and add us as your preferred source. It helps us a lot, and we are committed to delivering you the very latest basketball news.