Tristan Thompson Thumb Injury Ends NBA-Best Streak of 447 Straight Appearances

Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson sprained his thumb against the Orlando Magic on Tuesday and will not play against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday or the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, the team announced Wednesday.

Thompson has done a great job of staying healthy throughout his career. Thompson had played in 447 consecutive games prior to the injury, which was the longest current streak in the NBA and the longest in franchise history.

After playing 60 games as a rookie, the big man has appeared in all 82 games in every season since. This included playing through a mouth injury in which his two front teeth were knocked loose by Julius Randle. 

His durability helped him earn a five-year contract extension worth $82 million in 2015.

His iron-man status should give the Cavaliers confidence he will be able to quickly recover from his latest ailment as well. Thompson isn't a big-time scorer, but his presence on the glass will be missed, as he averaged 9.3 rebounds per game prior to the injury.

Kevin Love and LeBron James will be forced to play more in the post with Thompson unavailable, with depth becoming a serious concern. Channing Frye should get additional minutes, but otherwise the Cavaliers could be forced to go with a smaller lineup much more often than expected.

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