De’Andre Hunter listed as questionable against Knicks

Cleveland Cavaliers starting forward De’Andre Hunter is officially listed as questionable for the season opener against the New York Knicks on Wednesday.

Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said after Tuesday’s practice that Hunter could do a 3-on-3 practice for Cleveland, who didn’t do much on a day of travel before the first game of the year.

“He looked pretty good,” Atkinson said. “Let’s see what the returns are from that. But he looked good in 3-on-3 play.”

A seemingly routine defensive collision seems to have become a distraction for Hunter and the Cavswho could now lose three key rotation players to begin their 2025-26 NBA campaign.

“It was knee-on-knee in that game in Detroit,” Atkinson explained. “I just hit my knees. So that’s the contusion we’re marking. Pretty good hit.”

Atkinson said on Monday Hunter only did individual workmeaning that 5v5 and contact were not included in his personal practice regimen.

Asked if Hunter’s knee contusion was a long-term concern, Atkinson downplayed the idea but didn’t want to speculate too far: “I don’t think so. Usually it’s long-term like a twist or you fall awkwardly. It’s just a knee-to-knee, a little bit unfortunate. But he saw what it was today.”3. looks like (Wednesday) morning.”

If the Cavs don’t have Hunter for the matchup with the Knicks, Atkinson has a plan in place. Understandably, he did not disclose that information to the media.

“Good question,” Atkinson said with a chuckle. “I think that’s going to translate into our young guys having to be ready to go. We’re confident in that. We’ve done a lot of work with them this summer. Throw them in the fire.”

The Cavs and Knicks will square off on Wednesday at 7:00 PM ET in a nationally televised matchup between the Eastern Conference contenders. Whether they will have Hunter or not remains to be seen, but either way they will be ready for the game.

Spencer Davies has covered the NBA and the Cleveland Cavaliers as an accredited reporter for over a decade. His work has appeared on Basketball News, Bleacher Report, USA Today, FOX Sports, HoopsHipe, CloseUp360, FanSided and Basketball Insiders, among others.