Every individual NBA player has their own unique journey.
Caris LeVert, whose first love was football, wasn’t heavily recruited out of high school in central Ohio. Isaac Okoro admitted that, in his early days, he was “that tall kid who really couldn’t do anything.” Craig Porter Jr. didn’t start for Wichita State until his senior year.
And then there’s Cleveland’s starting point guard, Darius Garland, who seems like he was almost born to be a star in the Association.
Garland’s dad – Winston Garland – played five seasons with seven NBA teams back in the late-80s and early-90s. And his youngest son was destined for greatness from a very young age.
Born in Gary, Indiana, Darius went on to attend Brentwood Academy in Tennessee – making the varsity squad as an 8th grader and going on to win four state championships while being named the state’s Mr. Basketball three times. From there, he committed to Vanderbilt as the top recruit in school history.
A knee injury suffered in his fifth game at Vandy prematurely ended Garland’s collegiate career, but that didn’t end his meteoric rise through the ranks – and on June 20, 2019, the 19-year-old heard his name called by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who made him the 5th overall pick of the NBA Draft.
Since that night, Garland has established himself as one of the top point men in the league – spearheading the franchise’s turnaround following some dark days after LeBron James’ second departure. In 2021-22, he was named an Eastern Conference All-Star and played the game on his home floor. And he continues to soar through the Cavaliers record books. At just 24 years of age, he’s already reached the team’s top 5 in three-pointers and among the top 10 in assists.
But DG the PG got his start back in Indiana, starring as a two-sport athlete from a young age. And as the Cavaliers prepare to take the Pacers, who make their home just over two hours from where the young guard with the million-dollar smile grew up, what better time than now to look back on how it all unfolded …
Growing up … the only other sport I played was baseball – and that was actually my first love, for real.
I stopped playing baseball … in middle school when I moved to Nashville, just because AAU basketball and AAU baseball just didn't line up together, so I had to pick just one.
Back then … I was a shortstop and a pitcher. I think I probably could have played college-level ball.
My family is … pretty athletic. I have two brothers and a sister – and I’m the youngest.
My one brother played … baseball in college. And then my sister is the background dancer for some big talented celebrities now.
In Tennessee … I played on the varsity team when I was still in 8th grade. I think I started when I was about 14.
The competition at the middle school level wasn't that good … but I was super-small in 8th grade, so they were kind of worried about that as well. But they let me play in the state tournament.
So, when it really mattered … I played.
I think I had my big growth spurt … probably my sophomore year – sophomore going into my junior year where I grew a couple inches.
The competition in Tennessee was … pretty good at the time. You had all the Memphis teams, so guys like James Wiseman. And then Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. They were at a prep school at Hamilton Heights in Tennessee, so I used to play them every year.
But then again, my school was on a national schedule … so I used to play all the prep schools and all the top schools around the city, around the state. So, I had a pretty tough schedule.
As far as reaching the NBA, I’d say by my sophomore year … I knew I could really do something with basketball, and that's when I started taking things super seriously – just working out early, started getting a lifting routine. That's when it really clicked for me.
Obviously, my dad played in the league, and I have … some cool memories from back then. Every birthday of mine, we would go to either Milwaukee or Detroit to watch a game. And I used to go in the locker room all the time.
One of my favorite times, I think it was … my sixth or seventh birthday. We went to Detroit, and Chauncey Billups was one of my favorite players at the time. So, he signed a basketball for me – and I still got that basketball to this day.
There are so many kids … that the pros I’ve met have probably interacted with – but I definitely had a chance to tell Chauncey about that story.
Of course, I remember … my first dunk. It was the summer of my freshman year, going into my sophomore year.
I was just playing around … and I just dunked one time and then I kept trying, but I couldn’t dunk again. So, I had that one good dunk attempt, and then I didn’t try another one until about month after that.
But my first one … I was just working out and I just threw it up and just went to go get it. And then my first game dunk was sophomore year too. And yeah, the place went nuts when I did it.