Cavaliers star Darius Garland said he felt like he had ‘nine toes’ prior to offseason surgery

Cavaliers star Darius Garland dealt with a nagging toe injury that caused him to miss multiple games during the team’s 2025 playoff run. Garland missed the final two games of the team’s opening-round playoff series against the Miami Heat and also was sidelined for the first two contests against the Indiana Pacers in the ensuing round.

After Garland initially was against the idea of having offseason surgery, he ultimately decided to go ahead with the procedure.

“I wasn’t myself,” Garland told Cleveland.com. “It was difficult. I was hoping to avoid it for the long run, but it got to the point where I had to get surgery. That’s just what it was. An easy decision that was going to get me back healthy.”

While speaking at his celebrity softball game over the weekend, Garland admitted that he felt like he got his big toe back following the procedure.

“It’s basically like a brand new toe really,” Garland said. “I got my 10th toe back. I had no big toe at the end of last season. I had like nine toes. I felt like I was playing with nine toes. That’s how I would describe it.

“Any type of movement was tough. Putting on a shoe was tough. Walking. Running. It was difficult. I said it last year to you guys: Nobody really understands what any athlete goes through. At least, injury-wise.”

Garland does have the toe surgery in his rearview mirror, but it’s unclear if he’ll be ready for training camp this fall. 

“I’m ramping up every week,” Garland said. “It’s getting better every day. Just taking my time with it. I’m not really putting a date on it right now. Trying to get back to 100 percent and be ready for June, when it really matters.”

Garland was one of Cleveland’s key contributors throughout the regular season as he helped lead the Cavaliers to a franchise-high 64-18 record. He averaged 20.6 points, 6.7 assists, and 2.9 rebounds, while shooting 40.1% from beyond the arc.

The Cavaliers finished the 2024-25 campaign with the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, while also registering the second-most wins in the NBA behind only the Oklahoma City Thunder. With the Cavaliers looking to make another postseason run, the team will need Garland to be operating near 100% in order for them to be a force in the East.