When the Cleveland Cavaliers selected Darius Garland with the No. 5 pick of the 2019 NBA Draft, there was admittedly little known about the 19-year-old point guard.
After all, a knee injury limited Garland's college career at Vanderbilt to just five games. As a result, NBA teams and fans alike had little to judge Garland on aside from the 5-star status he arrived in Nashville with.
But while Garland's NBA career is still five days from officially beginning, Cleveland's new rookie point guard has already helped justify the Cavs' decision. That was especially the case in Cleveland's final preseason game, in which the 6-foot-2, 175-pound point guard's 16-point, 4-assist performance left many around the league buzzing about his potential.
Based on his talent and draft position alone, one would figure Garland might rank relatively high in the NBA Rookie of the Year odds. But as of Sunday, BetOnline.ag had the son of former NBA point guard Winston Garland tied for the seventh-best Rookie of the Year odds at 20-1.
If you're a believer in Garland's upside, those odds were likely enticing, especially considering the opportunities he'll likely have to play a lot of minutes -- and thus, potentially score a lot of points -- in his rookie season. Although he hasn't yet officially be named a starter, it only appears to be a matter of not if, but when he'll join Collin Sexton to form one of the league's intriguing young backcourts.
While the Cavs aren't projected to win many games this season -- their over-under win total is set at 24.5 games -- that's rarely been a requirement for winning Rookie of the Year. In fact, only two of the last 10 Rookie of the Year's have played for winning teams, with Andrew Wiggins even winning the award in 2015 when the Minnesota Timberwolves only won 16 games.
What's more is that while New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson entered this week as a -200 favorite to win this season's award, the reigning No. 1 pick is no longer the lock he once was. On Friday, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Williamson will miss the first few weeks of his NBA career with a knee injury and while a severe injury has been ruled out, a definitive timeframe for his return remains uncertain.
Depending on how long Williamson is out and how well he performs once he returns, a Rookie of the Year race that appeared to have a foregone conclusion could very well be wide open. And while many may not have been familiar with Garland just four months ago, there are plenty of reasons to believe that could soon change.
