The former number one overall pick, Brad Daugherty was an outstanding player.
Even though he only appeared in 548 games, he still gets the nod at number one without even a debate.
Daugherty would be a Hall of Fame member if it wasn’t for a back injury that robbed him of another five to seven years of dominance.
He was the centerpiece of some really good Cavalier teams in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Daugherty formed quite the duo with all-star point guard Mark Price.
It’s been said many times before that if it weren’t for Michael Jordan, the Cavaliers may have more hardware in their trophy cases. Jordan plus the trade blunder that is Ron Harper for Danny Ferry were two major factors in keeping the Cavaliers and Daugherty from making it to the NBA Finals.
The Cavaliers made the playoffs in six out of eight seasons that Daugherty donned a Cleveland jersey.
Daugherty made the All-Star team in five out of his eight NBA seasons and was selected to the 1992-93 All-NBA team.
His numbers are fantastic. His per-game averages, for his career, per Basketball-Reference are 19 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 3.7 assists.
Many of the Cavaliers top 10 centers are effort players who do a lot of things that don’t directly impact the box score, however, the top of the list is loaded with talent, and it’s a shame we didn’t get to see Daugherty’s entire career play out, healthy.