“I let the emotions get the best of me and pretty much played the last three games with a broken hand.” – LeBron James #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/bj1QPDjF9r
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 9, 2018
Though unbeknownst to the public, LeBron James sustained a significant right hand injury at the end of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, when he punched a black board in the Cavaliers locker room, as first reported by Brian Windhorst of ESPN. The injury seemed to have a notable impact on James for the remainder of the series, who went just 5-for-19 shooting from outside 10 feet for the final three games.
LeBron James suffered a significant right hand injury after Game 1 when he punched a black board in the locker room, sources told me & @mcten. He had 2 MRIs & has been wearing a soft cast. LeBron not using injury as an excuse but kept quiet to prevent Warriors from knowing.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) June 9, 2018
During his postgame presser, LeBron sat at the podium with a cast on his right hand, and characterized the injury as “pretty much” a “broken hand.”
“What happened? Self inflected,” James said. “Postgame after Game 1. Very emotional for a lot of different reasons. Understanding how important a Game 1 is on the road for our ball club, what that would’ve done for us. The way we played, the calls that was made over the course of that game, and I had emotions on the game was taken away from us, I had emotions of you don’t get an opportunity like this on the road vs. Golden State to be able to get a Game 1 and I let the emotions get the best of me. Pretty much played the last three games with a broken hand, so that’s what it is.”