No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers big man: Brad Daugherty
Daugherty was the No. 1 pick of the 1986 NBA Draft and lived up to all the pressures of being the No. 1 pick. Although his playing career was cut short due to a neck and back injury after only playing in eight seasons, he made the most of his years that were all in Cleveland. One of the most intriguing parts of putting together these types of rankings today is to see that the players that are ranked the highest were usually players that spent the majority of their careers on one team.
Daughtery did everything for the Cavs and was that imposing presence on the inside that tagged up with Larry Nance to clog up the paint. That tandem reminds many Cavs fans today of their team’s current duo in Jarrett Allen and Even Mobley. For Daugherty, he finished his career averaging 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Over a four-season stretch from 1990 to 1994, he averaged over 20 points and 10 boards. During that impressive 1990-91 season, he never scored in single digits. He had 54 games of scoring 20 points or more, and he had 53 games of pulling down 10 rebounds or more. He’s had a career-high scoring 44 points in one game back in the 1987 season. He also had a 24-rebound game back in the 1990 season as well.
Daugherty made it on to five All-Star teams. He made the All-Rookie Team in 1986 and made the All-NBA 3rd Team back during the 1991 season as well. It was a great run for the big man that played at North Carolina in college.
Can current Cavs players like Mobley and Allen be the next Daugherty and Larry Nance? Time will tell, but the Cavaliers have been gifted over the years with some outstanding big men at, in this sense, the 4 and 5 positions.