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, and 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.  Last year was when Williams proved he belonged in the defensive elite, earning not only Second Team All-Defensive Honors with his 102.4 leading the NBA in Defensive Rating.  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.

Entering 2022/23, Williams might be on the shelf, but he has a lifetime PER of 22.9, which dwarfs many Hall of Famers, though yes, we know that no Hall of Fame inductees have played less than 200 Games!

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.  Last year, Garland had similar numbers (21.6 PPG), and helped the Cavaliers make the playoffs.

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