Perhaps it is a bit of a surprise that Robert Williams is ranked this high, but we love our intangibles and defense here.

It was not a great start for Williams, whose stock fell in the Draft when questions about his work ethic arose.  He did not do himself any favors in his first training camp, but the talent was there, and he was worth the investment.  The Center played off the bench for his first two years, showing flashes of defensive genius, but this was just the beginning.

Williams logged more playing time (18.9 MP) in 2020-21, yet still averaged 1.8 Blocks per Game, and was seventh in Blocks per Game.  In 2021-22, Williams proved he belonged in the defensive elite, earning not only Second Team All-Defensive Honors with his Defensive Rating of 102.4, which led the league.  He was also fifth in Defensive Win Shares (3.9), second in Blocks per Game (2.2), and if Williams was in the Game, you knew exactly what he was there to do.

In 2022-23, Williams was oft-injured, appearing in only 35 Games and missing the playoffs, and this would be his swansong. He was traded to Portland from Beantown in the summer of 2023.  

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 2021/22 revision of our top 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 showed improvement and have the makings of a squad that could make some noise this season.  Last year resulted in two new entrants and one minor elevation

As always, we present our top five, which was not impacted by last season:

1. LeBron James

2. Mark Price

3. Brad Daugherty

4. Zydrunas Ilgauskas

5. Larry Nance

You can find the entire list here.

Kevin Love moved up one spot to #8.

Debuting at #35 is Center and 2022 All-Stars, Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland at #49.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

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 2021/22 revision of our top 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 showed improvement and have the makings of a squad that could make some noise this season.  Last year resulted in two new entrants and one minor elevation

As always, we present our top five, which was not impacted by last season:

1. LeBron James

2. Mark Price

3. Brad Daugherty

4. Zydrunas Ilgauskas

5. Larry Nance

You can find the entire list here.

Kevin Love moved up one spot to #8.

Debuting at #35 is Center and 2022 All-Stars, Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland at #49.

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. In 2022-23, Garland had similar numbers (21.6 PPG), and helped the Cavaliers make the playoffs.  Garland averaged 18 Points per Game the year after and again aided the Cavs in making the playoffs.  Last season, Garland played 75 Games (his healthiest to date) and broke over 20 Points per Game (20.6) while adding a second trip to the All-Star Game.

Entering his seventh campaign, Garland is a player to watch, and could be the catalyst for a deep playoff run in Cleveland.