CLEVELAND — It would be surprising if Darius Garland were to play when the Cavaliers open the regular season on Oct. 22, but the All-Star point guard refused to rule it out Sept. 29 during the team’s media day at Rocket Arena.
It’s safe to say Garland is pushing himself to return to game action as soon as possible after undergoing surgery on June 9 to repair a sprained left big toe.
“I’m doing everything on the court right now,” Garland said. “It’s been the last month.”
When does Garland expect to play his first regular-season game?
“I don’t have a date yet that I’m going to tell y’all, but I have a date in my mind,” Garland said.
Does Garland think he’ll miss the start of the regular season next month when the Cavs visit the New York Knicks?
“I don’t know yet. We’ll see,” he said.
The Cavs will begin training camp practices Sept. 30 at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Garland will be there. Last week, Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman said Garland will be “very limited” in team activities during camp.
“Everything’s good,” Garland said. “Summer is [going] really well. Rehab has been going really well. I’m back on the court, moving around. I’m ramping up for the season, so everything’s been good. It’s been a really good offseason.
“Everything’s been looking great. [The doctor] has been saying everything’s been looking great. So I’m happy where I’m at right now. I’m going to keep working, keep progressing. I’m working on conditioning and cardio right now, so I’m happy to be back on the court.”
Darius Garland injury
Last spring, Garland missed four consecutive playoff games with the toe injury.
Garland suffered the sprain during the 2024-25 regular season and aggravated it April 23 during Game 2 of the Cavs’ first-round playoff sweep of the Miami Heat. He missed two games against the Heat and two more in the Cavs’ 4-1 second-round loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Darius Garland stats
Garland struggled while pushing through the injury in the 2025 playoffs. He appeared in five postseason games and averaged 18 points on 42% shooting from the field (28.6% on 3-pointers), 5.2 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 29.6 minutes.
In the 2024-25 regular season, Garland played in 75 of 82 games and averaged 20.6 points on 47.2% shooting from the floor (40.1% on 3s), 6.7 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 30.7 minutes. He earned the second All-Star selection of his career.
What did Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland say about playing through injury in the playoffs?
Last spring, Garland opened up about the challenges his toe issue presented.
“A toe injury, playing with a spacer in between my toes, playing with a steel plate, but I’m trying to be out there for my guys,” he said then. “I’m trying to win a series, trying to win the games, trying to do as much as I can, just to put our team in the best position to win. I definitely wasn’t myself out there. It was pretty uncomfortable, but, like I said, trying to do anything to win the game.”
Garland knew some outsiders criticized him for missing playoff games.
“Everybody’s going to have an opinion,” Garland said in the spring. “I know what I was going through physically. … A lot of y’all don’t know what I was going through physically, and a lot of y’all probably wouldn’t even go out there and play. And that’s what I did with my teammates, and they wanted me out there. I wanted to be out there, and that’s what it was.”
Those comments were made before Garland underwent surgery, giving reasonable fans and media members a better understanding of the severity of the injury.
How did the Cavs get Darius Garland?
The Cavs drafted Garland fifth overall out of Vanderbilt University in 2019. They signed him to a five-year, $193 million contract extension in 2022. Through six NBA seasons, his career averages are 18.9 points on 45.3% shooting from the field (38.8% on 3-pointers), 6.7 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals.
Did Darius Garland’s dad play in the NBA?
Garland, 25, is the son of former NBA point guard Winston Garland.
The elder Garland, 60, played seven NBA seasons, spending time with five franchises. He had the best production of his career during the 1988-89 season, when he averaged 14.5 points, 6.4 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals for the Golden State Warriors.
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Darius Garland provides injury update at Cavaliers media day after undergoing surgery
Reporting by Nate Ulrich, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
