The success of the Cleveland Cavaliers in February landed Kenny Atkinson the Coach of the Month award. As such, and after watching the way he dominated, it was only right that they also had the Eastern Conference Player of the Month.
However, there was not much love for Jarrett Allen. Despite being among the nominees with arguably the best month of his professional career, the distinction went to Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham.
The former first overall pick has balled out all season, so it's not like he didn't deserve it. Nevertheless, with the way Allen crushed the opposition, multiple fans took to social media to complain about this blatant snub.
Cavaliers fans believe Jarrett Allen was snubbed of Player of the Month
Jarrett will be on fire tonight I bet! He played amazing all month!
— Holly (@hollynel10) March 3, 2026
He went out and had the WORST shooting performance in over a decade and still got this over BHM jarrett 😪
— justaveli (@Justaveliii) March 3, 2026
LMAOO Allen got robbed idk how anyone who was shooting at that efficiency and producing at that caliber doesn’t get it
— Kirk (@Kirkland_V2) March 3, 2026
Allen only needed 29.4 minutes per game to average 22.3 points, 11.5 boards, 2.0 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 11.9 field goal attempts per game. He shot a whopping 74 percent from the floor, and, per Basketball Reference, posted an absurd offensive rating of 151 and a defensive rating of 109. On top of that, he led all players in Player Impact Estimate (20.5).
Cunningham wasn't half bad himself, averaging 25.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 9.9 assists, 1.5 blocks, 1.6 steals, and 2.3 3-pointers per game on 47-37-77 shooting splits. That said, he's a star; he's expected to post those types of numbers on a nightly basis, whereas Allen came out of left field to shock the NBA world with his newfound aggression.
Whatever the case, Allen has never been the type of player who's in it for the recognition. He's going to keep putting his head down and get to work, doing the little things that help the Cavaliers be a contender.
This is usually what happens to small market teams, and Allen should be used to these snubs by now. If anything, he should've been an All-Star last season, yet this is a narrative-based league, and most of these awards aren't much more than a popularity contest.
The Cavaliers are a much better team when Allen gets himself involved in the flow of the offense. He needs to keep this aggressive mindset, and having James Harden pulling the strings of the offense and getting him easy buckets in the pick-and-roll should work wonders with that.
Allen and the Cavs have bigger things to worry about right now. Maybe, he can redeem himself by taking home the Finals MVP award at some point in the near future.