Yes, we know that this is taking a while!
As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2023-24 revision of our top 50 Cleveland Cavaliers.
As for all of our top 50 players in basketball, we look at the following:
1. Advanced Statistics.
2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Basketball Association.
3. Playoff accomplishments.
4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.
Last year, Cleveland had a good season and continued to build around their young and dynamic team. There was no new entrant but five elevations.
As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:
1. LeBron James
2. Mark Price
3. Brad Daugherty
4. Zydrunas Ilgauskas
5. Larry NanceYou can find the entire list here.
Center and 2022 All-Star Jarrett Allen broke into the top 15 and is now at #11. He was ranked at #22 before
The returning Tristan Thompson inched up one spot to #12.
Superstar Donovan Mitchell, who has only been a Cavalier for two years, rocketed up the list from #40 to #20. Only in Basketball can we see that happen!
Guard Darius Garland advanced to #31 from #36.
Power Forward Evan Mobley went to #32 from #45.
We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.
Yes, we know that this is taking a while!
As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity. As such, we are very happy to present our post 2022/23 revision of our top 50 Cleveland Cavaliers.
As for all of our top 50 players in basketball we look at the following:
1. Advanced Statistics.
2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Basketball Association.
3. Playoff accomplishments.
4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.
Last year, Cleveland returned to the playoffs after a significant drought, and this generated some list fluctuation with two new entrants.
As always, we present our top five, which was not affected by the last season:
1. LeBron James
2. Mark Price
5. Larry Nance
You can find the entire list here.
Kevin Love, who was traded during the year to Miami, was unable to rise from his #8 spot.
Jarrett Allen shot up to #22 from #35.
Another significant jump came from Darius Garland, who advanced from #49 to #36.
Donovan Mitchell, who just had the best season of his career, debuted at #40.
The second new player is Evan Mobley, who comes in at #45.
We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.
Darius Garland was a three-time recipient of the Tennessee Mr. Basketball Award (2016-18) and after a year at Vanderbilt, the Guard was taken with the Fifth Overall Pick (2019) where he landed with the Cavaliers.
Garland became the answer to the trivia question, “Who is the first player to be born in the 2000s to play in the NBA”, but the former Commodore has shown progression in all three of his pro seasons, immediately becoming a starter, and working his way to the All-Star Game in year three. That was the season where he broke out with 21.7 Points and 8.6 Assists per Game, the latter stat placing him sixth overall. Garland was also a Finalist for the Most Improved Player of the Year Award, losing to Ja Morant. Two years ago, Garland had similar numbers (21.6 PPG), and helped the Cavaliers make the playoffs. Garland averaged 18 Points per Game last season and again aided the Cavs in making the playoffs.
Entering his sixth campaign, Garland is a player to watch, and could be the catalyst for a deep playoff run in Cleveland.