Max Strus showed no rust when he made his long delayed 2025-26 debut for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Hickory Hills native and former Stagg star missed all of preseason and the first 67 games of the NBA season after suffering a Jones fracture in his left foot in August 2025.
Strus returned to game action on March 15 at home against the Dallas Mavericks. He quickly made a statement by going 3-for-3 for nine points in the first quarter, and finished the game with 24 points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes.
“It was a testament to the work that I put in while I was hurt,” Strus said. “It meant the world to me to see all the work that I put in kind of come into fruition and be able to have a game like that first game back. It was everything I could have asked for.”
Heading into the surgery, the projected timeline for recovery was around four months. But due to the severity of the break and the lack of blood flow to the area of the injury, getting back took a little over six months.
“It was a tough recovery,” Strus said. “I wasn’t able to do a lot until I did not have pain in my foot — which took probably all of five months to be walking and doing things without pain.”
When Strus returned to the court for the Cavs, he was no longer wearing the No. 1 jersey he had during his first two seasons in Cleveland.
A midseason trade brought in 17-year NBA veteran James Harden, who had been wearing No. 1 during his two most recent stops.
Strus obliged to the jersey change and is enjoying playing with someone of Harden’s caliber.
“He is a once-in-a-generation player,” Strus said. “You have to take advantage when you have opportunities to be around a guy like that. His basketball IQ is second to none and it’s really cool to talk about the game and see how he sees it.”
Strus and the Cavaliers earned the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and opened the NBA playoffs against the Toronto Raptors.
He is excited to be back in the playoffs and is hoping his sixth straight playoff appearance is the best one yet.
“I feel that I am in a position to help,” Strus said. “This is where you want to be in your career — always playing in the playoffs.”
While the focus is on the playoffs, Strus also is excited for his favorite part of summer: the camp he hosts every year at his alma mater.
This year’s camp, the fifth annual, is schedule for July 20-23.
Something speciial this year: from 6 to 9 p.m. July 23, the Max Strus Family Foundation will host a concert in the park event featuring local music, food trucks and a drone show.
“It’s a free event for the community to celebrate five years of camp,” Strus said. “More importantly, it’s an opportunity to get the community together somewhere and have a good time — and we are going to do that.”
“It’s free — all you have to do is show up, bring a chair and watch the event,” Strus said.