Brandon Jennings validates Darius Garland’s offseason work with 7-word declaration

The 2021-22 NBA season was a breakout campaign for Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland.

He made his first All-Star team while directing the Cavs to the brink of their first playoff appearance since LeBron James’ departure in 2018.

But former NBA guard Brandon Jennings seems to think Garland is going to reach an ever higher level this coming season.

Garland, the fifth overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, averaged 21.7 points and 8.6 assists per game while shooting 46.2 percent overall and 38.3 percent from 3-point range.

In doing so, he established himself as one of the game’s newest forces to be reckoned with.

In addition to his ability to score and hit from the outside, Garland has developed into one of the league’s better ball-handlers, and his passing skills are exemplary.

He had a hand in rookie Evan Mobley emerging as someone with superstar potential, Jarrett Allen reaching his first All-Star game and Kevin Love putting together a bounce-back season.

Many people expect the Cavs to be in the playoffs this coming season, and more than anyone else, Garland will be the man who determines whether they get there.

Jennings, on the other hand, was an example of someone who broke out in his third season but never again matched what he did that year.

He put up 19.1 points and 5.5 assists per game in the 2011-12 season, but a few years later, he tore his Achilles, and afterward, he wasn’t even close to being the same player.