CLEVELAND — For the second consecutive week, a member of the Cavaliers has earned Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors. Donovan Mitchell was the first, and this time, it's his backcourt mate earning some recognition.
Darius Garland nabbed the award from the NBA following a stellar four-game stretch that saw him average 25 points and 7.3 points per contest while shooting 61.7% from the field and 57.6% from 3-point range. The Cavs won all four contests to improve their season record to 11-0, the best start in franchise history.
It's the second player of the week performance of Garland's career, with the first coming back in January of 2022. He is also just the seventh man in Cleveland history to win the award multiple times since its inception in 1979, joining LeBron James (42), Donovan Mitchell (4), Kyrie Irving (4), Andre Miller (2), Terrell Brandon (2), and Mike Mitchell (2).
Following an up-and-down 2023-24 season that saw Garland deal with injuries, personal tragedy, and playoff failures, some were questioning if the former All-Star even had a long-term future with the Cavaliers. Literally from the jump, however, the 24-year-old has been silencing the doubters, averaging 20.5 points and 6.6 assists per game while also tracking current career-highs in field goal (53.8%) and 3-point percentage (47.5%).
Garland's best showing so far came at the beginning of his player of the week run on Nov. 4, when he sank 15 of his 22 shots and nailed 7 of 11 3s (including the eventual game-winner) in a 116-114 comeback victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. His 39 points on the night are currently the most by any Cavs player in a game this season.
At 11-0, the Cavaliers are the only unbeaten team remaining in the NBA, and hold an early two-game lead over the defending champion Celtics for first place in the East. They'll face the Chicago Bulls on the road Monday night, with a big matchup in Boston looming next week.