Darius Garland said his toe injury involved torn ligaments that required reconstruction, detailing how difficult it was to play through during his final seasons in Cleveland.
Darius Garland described the toe injury that carried over his last two seasons in Cleveland as torn ligaments that had to be reconstructed, in a recent Q&A with HoopsHype's Cyro Asseo. Garland spoke at New Balance's Beantown Elite Experience, his second year working the camp.
The Cleveland Cavaliers announced in June 2025 that Garland had undergone surgery to repair his great toe injury. Dr. Nicholas Strasser performed the procedure at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in consultation with Cavaliers team doctor Dr. James Rosneck and Dr. Bob Anderson of OrthoCarolina. The team put the rehabilitation timeline at four to five months and said Garland was expected to resume basketball activities by the start of training camp.
Garland's read at the time was that it was just a toe and that he could play on it.
"I didn't really realize it until it happened as well. So I thought it was just a toe injury," Garland said. "It started off as like a bone bruise at first, like, just kept stubbing my toe in the front of my shoe. And then me thinking it's just a toe, I could just play on it. It just got worse. So I had like some torn ligaments and stuff like that. So I just had to get that reconstructed. But I'm all good now."
"It was very frustrating, just because the season I had before, it was really, really good," Garland continued. "So I think we could have had a chance of making a run if I didn't get hurt. So that was pretty frustrating. But it's pretty tough just out there playing with nine toes for like half a year. But it's all good, though, because the second half of the year, I had all 10 toes. And I felt really good. I felt like I was getting back to normal. But now, having a full summer, having a full offseason back to 100 percent. It was a mental fog most of the time. Because we're using our toes 24/7. So just out there trying to run on it and play defense, slide, and everything like that. It was pretty tough. Just had to work through it. I get paid to do this stuff. I just wanted to put on my hard hat and go out there and work and do the best I could."
Cleveland revealed the turf toe injury following a game in Utah on March 23, 2025. Garland participated in nine of the last 11 regular-season games. He re-injured it during Game 2 of the first-round series versus the Miami Heat, causing him to miss Games 3 and 4 and the first two games of the second round against the Indiana Pacers. He ultimately returned for the final three games against Indiana.
In the 2024-25 regular season, Garland averaged 20.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 6.7 assists over 75 games, with shooting splits of 47.2% from the field and 40.1% from three. He earned his second All-Star selection. Cleveland finished 64-18, securing the top seed in the Eastern Conference, but lost to Indiana in five games. During the final three games of that series, Garland struggled from the field, shooting 34.2% and just 16.7% from three.
Garland missed Cleveland's first seven games of the 2025-26 season while recovering. After 25 games, he averaged 17.9 points and 6.9 assists. On January 14 in Philadelphia, he scored 20 points and dished out seven assists in 23 minutes before leaving a 133-107 victory at halftime of the third quarter. The Cavaliers announced he had a Grade 1 sprain of his right big toe and would be reevaluated in seven to 10 days. He did not return to play for Cleveland.
In February, Cleveland sent Garland and a second-round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers for James Harden. Garland has since said the deal had been in the works for months.
When Garland arrived in Los Angeles, he saw it as both a fresh city and a new opportunity.
"The trade was actually pretty easy for me, bro, to be honest with you," Garland explained. "Which was crazy; we were already in LA, we had a road trip to LA already, so the transition wasn't too hard, to be honest with you. Mentally, it wasn't a shock, but it was still like a shock. I've been here for seven, seven and a half years, and now just to up and pack my bags like that, it was just like, dang. But it's part of the business. I understand the business side of it."
The two teams faced off at Intuit Dome the next night. Cleveland secured a 124-89 victory, led by Donovan Mitchell with 29 points and nine assists. Neither Garland nor Harden participated in the game.
Cleveland selected Garland fifth overall in 2019 and signed him to a five-year, $197 million extension prior to the 2023-24 season. During his time with the team, he made two All-Star teams and appeared in three consecutive playoffs. Garland ranks third in Cavaliers history for assists with 2,738 and third in three-pointers made with 956. Additionally, he is ninth in points with a total of 7,671.
Cleveland finished 52-30 and fourth in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers beat the Toronto Raptors in seven games, came back from a 2-0 deficit against the top-seeded Detroit Pistons to win in seven, and were swept by the New York Knicks in the conference finals. Harden re-signed this summer. Cleveland opens the 2026-27 season against the Philadelphia 76ers in Philadelphia.
