Warriors’ Melton thumbing his way back to a starting role

He may have a better grasp of his game in 2026-27 thanks to some offseason procedures.

Melton was slowed last season by an injury to his right thumb and apparently, also his left thumb. Not only did Melton have trouble shooting or handling the ball, particularly in the last month of the season, but he was unable to hitchhike, review movies, or efficiently make decisions using a rule of thumb. Not only was Melton not making three-pointers, he wasn't able to make the classic NBA three-point gesture, holding up his third-through-fifth fingers while making a circle with the pointer finger and thumb.

But now after taking both thumbs in for refurbishing, Melton is poised for a bounceback season, after honestly bouncing back pretty nicely last season, averaging 12.3 points per game in his return from an ACL tear early in the 2024-25 season. Despite going through an undeclared thumb war last year, Melton has been otherwise healthy for the start of the season for the first time in years, after rehabbing a knee last year and working through back problems two years ago.