Darius Garland on ‘revenge’ season: ‘Still people on my hit list that I need to go at’

The 2023-24 NBA campaign was one to forget for Cleveland Cavaliers star guard Darius Garland. For one, he was limited to just 57 of the team’s 82 games in the regular season thanks to injuries, including a fractured jaw that required surgery.

Furthermore, he averaged the fewest points per game since his second season in the NBA. Garland scored 18.0 points per game while shooting 44.6 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from 3-point range.

It’s safe to claim that Garland has raised his level of play compared to a year ago so far this season, and he alleged that he is in the middle of a “revenge” season in his sixth NBA campaign.

“This is my revenge season,” Garland told a small group of reporters, including cleveland.com, on Tuesday morning. “Just a lot of doubt from last year, coming off a lot of injuries. When I’m healthy, you guys see what I’m doing. That’s what I’m trying to prove this year.”

Garland also admitted that what all of the naysayers had to say about him and the team has fueled him to play at such a high level.

“It lights a fire up your butt,” Garland said. “When you see all the doubt and all the haters and 99% of the people don’t even know what you’re going through, it takes a toll on you. This summer, I kept everything. I used to go back and look at all the people talking negative about me and negative about the team. It lit a fire under my butt for sure.”

He didn’t cite a specific critique that especially motivated him but noted there was “passive-aggressiveness” going on and he didn’t appreciate that.

“It was just like stuff I would see on TV while randomly watching TV one day,” Garland explained. “The passive-aggressiveness was killing me. I just kept that in the back of my head and then during workouts, I’d just think about some of the stuff being said. I still use it to this day.”

Finally, he seems to think that he’s done a good job of silencing the doubters to this point.

“I think I’ve quieted a couple of them,” Garland said with a wry smile. “Still people on my hit list that I need to go at. I’m going to continue to do that. I know exactly five. Halfway through the season, so we’re almost there. Just gotta keep playing with that confidence.”

Garland might be playing the best basketball of his NBA career so far this season. For one, he’s shooting career-highs from the field (49.8 percent) and from deep (42.4 percent) while scoring 21.0 points per contest.

On top of his scoring contributions, he’s also probably been the top playmaker for a Cavaliers squad that owns the best record in the league at this juncture. He’s leading the way with 6.7 assists per game all the while averaging a career-low 2.4 turnovers,

Garland’s scoring and passing chops were on full display when Cleveland earned its 34th victory of the campaign over the Indiana Pacers on Jan. 14. He dropped 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the floor and also dished out seven assists.

If Garland can sustain his current level of play when the 2025 NBA Playoffs begin, fans of the team should be optimistic about Cleveland’s chances of capturing its second title in franchise history shortly.

The Cavaliers won their first title back in 2016, when LeBron James was still in his second stint in Cleveland and paired with the likes of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.