To say that Darius Garland has been having a great season for the Cleveland Cavaliers would be an understatement. He has been cooking defenses all season long. In fact, he is on the verge of joining an exclusive group of players riddled with MVPs.
The All-Star snub is averaging 22 points, 7.9 assists, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game this season. Not only that but he is doing it on one of the best teams in the league, sitting with the sixth-best record in the league at the time of writing this.
To make it even more impressive, he is on the verge of joining basketball history with how efficient he has been this season for the Cavs.
Darius Garland is only a few percentage points away from joining the elusive 50-40-90 club.
If you are unaware of the 50-40-90 club, it is a group of players who managed to shoot 50% from the field, 40% from beyond the arc, and 90% from the free throw line. It is an incredibly difficult feat that requires being an elite scorer from every area of the floor.
A feat that has only happened 13 times and only accomplished by nine players in NBA history. This is the peak accomplishment for shooters and even doing it once solidifies your name among the greatest shooters in NBA history.
Combined, the nine players who have accomplished this elite shooting feat have won nine MVP awards. The players who have done it are Larry Bird (2x), Mark Price, Reggie Miller, Steve Nash (4x), Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Malcolm Brogdon, and Kyrie Irving. Shout out to the two former Cavs in this group.
If Darius Garland can join that company, it would set him on the path to greatness. Especially since he would be the youngest to ever do so if he reaches that milestone. He would also be the sixth-highest scoring player to ever achieve that honor. The only players to score more than 22 points per game and reach 50/40/90 are Larry Bird both times, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and Kyrie Irving. Four of those players won at least one MVP.
Garland would also be sixth in assists per game among those seasons as well. He would only be trailing Mark Price and four years of Steve Nash, two of the greatest playmakers of all time.
The only problem is that Garland is still a few percentage points behind joining this elite group of players. He is 2.7% shy of 50% from the field and 4.2% shy of 90% from the free throw line. He is shooting a healthy 43.1% from beyond the three-point arc so that isn’t the stat holding him back.
Even if it seems incredibly difficult this late in the season to raise his number that much, it is far from impossible for the young Cavs star. He would need to be nearly perfect for the rest of the season though.
If Darius Garland joins this club of all-time greats, he would be making history in a variety of different ways.
If he pulls it off, it will force fans across the league to acknowledge the greatness of the ever-improving 23-year-old.