With only 24 roster spots available, the All-Star Game is reserved for the league’s most elite talents and usually, that resides with the biggest headline-grabbing names in the NBA.
But with the Cavaliers’ first-time All-Star guard Darius Garland, a quick search might be required for some.
You’re probably aware that Cleveland has been one of the most surprising teams in the NBA, sitting just 1.5 games back from the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference over 50 games into the season. The Cavaliers only needed 39 games (!) to surpass Las Vegas’ projected over/under win total of 21.5, which is… not common for sportsbooks to be that far off.
If you’re wondering how Cleveland has elevated itself from post-LeBron James failures to a legitimate contender in the East, it all starts with Garland as the signal-caller of the team.
The 22-year-old guard has been a bit of an unknown since he entered the league in 2019. He only played five games as a freshman at Vanderbilt before his season was cut short due to a meniscus tear, yet he still proved enough to be selected fifth overall in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Selected behind players like Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, RJ Barrett and reigning National Champion DeAndre Hunter, it’s easy to forget the lesser-known Garland who hardly played before making it to the NBA. In fact, you probably remember his draft day suit more clearly than you remember him being picked No. 5.
The Cavaliers were questioned after they selected Garland. They had just drafted Collin Sexton – another offensive-minded guard – with a top-10 pick the year before and had plenty of other holes to fill in their roster. Instead, they doubled down at the guard position and took a chance on the 6-foot-2 playmaker in hopes of adding the most talented player, regardless of need.
Like most first-year players, Garland struggled out of the gate in a high-usage role for a bad team. His rookie season could not have been less ideal, either.
Jon Beilein, a powerhouse college coach who was making his first leap to the NBA, only last 54 games into a five-year contract with the Cavaliers before being fired. At that time, Garland was just starting to find his footing as the team’s point guard and 11 games after his head coach was canned, the league was shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Once the NBA resumed play over the summer, the Cavaliers were not invited to the bubble because they weren’t in playoff contention.
10 months later, Garland was ready for his sophomore season and showed he made significant improvements since we last saw him in game action. He averaged 17.4 points and 6.1 assists per game while shooting a strong 45.1 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from 3, all of which were major improvements on his rookie campaign.
The Cavaliers finished with an underwhelming 22-50 record, but they did trade for a rising young star in Jarrett Allen and their poor record put them in place to draft another promising young talent in Evan Mobley. Between those additions and some stability at the top in head coach JB Bickerstaff, Cleveland began forming its core of the future and its paying dividends way ahead of schedule.
That brings us to this season, where Garland has come out ballin'.
Establishing himself as the team’s floor general and catalyst, everything has run through “DG the PG.”
That was true from the start of the season, but even more responsibility fell on his shoulders when both Sexton (meniscus) and Ricky Rubio (ACL) suffered season-ending injuries before the halfway point of the year. Those devastating injuries only led to higher importance placed on Garland’s ability as a playmaker.
He has stepped up to the task, leading the Cavaliers in both points (19.8) and assists (8.2) per game. His assists average is also good for seventh in the league, which is telling of his abilities as one of the best passers in the NBA.
In fact, I’d argue it’s his passing that makes him so lethal as an offensive weapon because he uses his unselfishness to his advantage to constantly keep opposing defenses guessing.
He’s a tricky cover because he’s a reliable 3-point shooter so you can’t back off, but he has a bursty first step and he’s as shifty as they come. He can start and stop, change direction or change his pace with tight handle and good body control that often leaves defenders in the dust.
Where things really get complicated is when he gets past that first line of defense, getting into the paint, which is his favorite area to operate on the floor. Defenders know he’s looking to pass first, but he can also burn you with his feathery floater…
…or a layup package that you’d need at least a 90 overall layup rating to unlock in 2K.
Garland is an extremely efficient finisher for a player of his size, converting over 50 percent of his attempts from the restricted area, paint and midrange, according to NBA stats. He also knocks down over 50 percent of his floaters, further proving how deadly he can be when he gets going towards the hoop.
But if the help defender or rim protector is too focused on stopping him from scoring, he’ll find a cutting teammate or one of his towering athletic big men sitting in the dunker’s spot for an easy two.
And there isn’t a single pass Garland can’t make – he can deliver passes with either hand off of a live dribble, toss up pin-point lobs (that even sometimes look like floaters) or thread the needle on bounce passes with precision accuracy.
All of these things come together to help explain why Garland’s 16 double-doubles of points and assists are tied with Luka Doncic for fifth-most in the NBA, only trailing Chris Paul (24), Trae Young (23), James Harden (23) and Dejounte Murray (18).
Garland’s breakout season has not only caught the attention of the head coaches that voted him an All-Star, but also some of the all-time greats currently still playing in the league.
Garland recently said that NBA 75 members like LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard have all reached out to him, complimenting him on his play so far this year.
His new teammate Rajon Rondo – someone who knows a thing or two about being an elite playmaking point guard – also recently heaped praise on Garland.
“Right now, I think he is the best closer in the game. And I played with a lot of talented players,” Rondo said of Garland. “The way he puts the weight on his shoulders… I think it’s the best stretch of basketball I’ve seen a PG play at 21 years old.”
While he may be hyping up his backcourt mate a bit, it shows just how highly players around the league think of Cleveland’s young star.
There are plenty of talented, up-and-coming point guards in the NBA, from Luka Doncic and Trae Young to Ja Morant and LaMelo Ball.
If this season has made anything clear, it’s that Darius Garland belongs on that list, too.
