“Steph Curry, LeBron James, and Damian Lillard reached out to me this season”: Darius Garland says he is getting compliments from various superstars amid a tremendous season for the Cavaliers

Akash Murty | 23/01/2022
"Steph Curry, LeBron James, and Damian Lillard reached out to me this season": Darius Garland says he is getting compliments from various superstars amid a tremendous season for the Cavaliers

While leading the young Cavaliers squad to a sensational season, Darius Garland gets praise from the superstars like LeBron James.

Darius Garland is having a breakout season in the 2021-22 campaign. The 5th pick of the 2019 Draft has become Cleveland Cavaliers’ primary ball-handler this term after Colin Sexton tore his meniscus and is out for the year.

The point guard out of Vanderbilt University is averaging 19.8-points, 8.0-assists, and 3.4-rebounds per game while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from beyond the arc.

Along with fellow youngsters Evan Mobley (2021’s third pick) and Jarrett Allen, Garland has helped the Cavaliers to be the 5th best team in the East with over 46 games played.

Also read: “I was terrified Michael Jordan would dunk on me”: When a rookie Shaquille O’Neal faced the Bulls legend in back-to-back games 

Since Sexton’s injury, Darius has been the team’s primary scoring option and had Ricky Rubio as a veteran presence, who came off the bench and gave Cleveland some great scoring off the bench.

But after the Spaniard tore his ACL last month, everyone thought it will put a full stop to the outstanding run by the young squad. But Garland and Co have responded aggressively by still competing at the highest of levels.

Darius Garland gets praise from LeBron, Curry, and Lillard

Garland has been top-5 in plus-minus among the point guards playing the most minutes per game. Only Stephen Curry has more points than him on that list. Averaging a career-high in points, assists, and rebounds per game, the 21-year-old says he has caught the attention of some of the biggest names in the game.

Not only have the Cavs have benefited from Garland’s play, but the guard himself has also earned lots of love and support from the fans in the Land to get his first All-Star appearance. Not only the recognition from these stars will help Darius in his All-Star case, but it also gives him a future option to join forces with any of those superstars.

Seeing how the Warriors are performing while Stephen Curry’s dip in form makes you wonder how long until Steve Kerr decides to step out and make a big trade happen.

Also read: Russell Westbrook talks about adopting a team-first approach and making his teammates around him better

Meanwhile, the Lakers and the Portland Trail Blazers are playing some of their worst basketball since the start of the season and haven’t found any trade scenarios as of now which can help them. Both LeBron James and Damian Lillard might try to get Garland next year if nothing changes in their respective ball club.

And who knows LBJ himself might go back to the Land after his contract expires?

 

 

Post Edited By: Amulya Shekhar
cleveland cavaliers Damian Lillard darius garland LeBron James Stephen Curry

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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