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”In the NBA, Anyone Can Cook You!’: Darius Garland Shares His ‘Welcome to the NBA’ Story

Trikansh Kher
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''In the NBA, Anyone Can Cook You!': Darius Garland Shares His 'Welcome to the NBA' Story

Every rookie has a welcome to the NBA story, some event or exchange where they realize that they are in the NBA now. Recently, Darius Garland shared his welcome to the NBA story on the Old Man & the Three podcast. It features all the spice you expect, there’s a hotshot rookie who’s overconfident, an unassuming rival, and a rude realization.

Garland spoke about how he ‘literally got cooked’ by Phoenix Suns star Elfrid Payton in a game, and how he realized that in the league, anybody could school you. It was his rookie year and he had gone into the match expecting it to go smoothly.

However, everything would go sideways as then-Knicks star Payton fired up. Garland would describe it as being a night where he was ‘little bro-ed’ by someone he thought was just a regular player.

The Pride Before the Fall

It’s easy to understand why a rookie might be overconfident. By the time you reach the NBA, you’ve proven yourself so many times. You probably were the best player in your neighborhood, then your school, and probably your college.

You almost forget that every single player in the NBA is absurdly talented. Even a regular guy on an NBA team plays a level of basketball that is astonishing. To put it more plainly, in the NBA, anyone can cook you.

Garland fits the talented rookie bill perfectly. He played college basketball at Vanderbilt, where he was the best recruit in program history. Soon though, the NBA would cut him down to size.

Read more: “Darius Garland really accomplished a Cavs feat that even LeBron James didn’t achieve”: The All-Star becomes the 2nd youngest player in franchise history with a 25/5/5 game on 80% shooting

Garland’s Introduction to the NBA

It would happen when the Cavaliers were playing the Knicks and Elfrid Payton, a ‘regular guy in the league’ proceeded to cook the rookie.

Garland said that ‘he was putting his shoulder in my chest, I can’t breathe for a lil bit, he was literally just little bro-ing me everywhere on the floor’. Ouch.

While the Cavaliers star’s rookie season was forgettable, he is no run-of-the-mill player. The 2022 NBA All-Star is exceptional and even he got cooked by someone who’s just another player. Elfrid Payton is no NBA superstar, to be honest. But that night he gave the rookie a valuable lesson.

Read more: “One Klutch Client Is Clutch”: Skip Bayless Taunts Lebron James and Rich Paul’s A-Listers after 6ft 1″ Darius Garland Bullies Nets

About the author

Trikansh Kher

Trikansh Kher

Trikansh Kher is a writer at The Sports Rush. A lawyer by education, Trikansh has always been around sports. As a young track athlete Trikansh was introduced to basketball through 'street ball' mixtapes. He was hooked and it has been 'ball is life' ever since. Trikansh is a designer by profession, but couldn't keep away from basketball. A regular on the blacktop, his love for the game goes further than just hooping. If Trikansh isn't going through box scores for last night's game, you can find him in his studio working on his designs or playing squash at the local club.

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