The Cleveland Cavaliers are inching closer to their 2024-25 regular season debut. The Cavs will enter the campaign highly touted with top players returning to their team, including Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell received an interesting ranking from Charles Barkley ahead of the year.
Charles Barkley released a list of his top 21 to 50 players in the NBA, and Mitchell came in at No. 43, as provided by House of Highlights on X (formerly Twitter). The ranking is seen as a slight by some Cavs fans, who believe Mitchell at least deserves a top-30 spot.
Donovan Mitchell had one of his best years with the Cavaliers in 2023-24. He averaged a career-high 29.6 points along with 5.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and a career-best 1.8 steals in addition to a 36.8 percent three-point shooting stroke.
Mitchell dealt with injury woes which limited him to 55 regular season games. Yet, his performance in the playoffs helped the Cavs get past the first round with their seven-game series win over the Orlando Magic. The star guard has a lot on his shoulders going into 2024-25 after his contract extension, as Cleveland seeks to make a deeper run. But Mitchell will not have to do it alone.
Darius Garland is on a mission for redemption from his lowly 2023-24 campaign.
“[I want to prove] that I’m better than last year,” Garland said in mid-October, via Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “First and foremost, I just want to stay healthy and get back to being myself, playing with that joy again and doing the things that I’m used to doing. Hopefully have an All-Star, All-NBA type of season and try to help this team win as many games as possible like I know I can.”
The Cavs’ stars are motivated and ready to take on a new year. With the talent on their roster and new coaching leadership, Cleveland is poised for a breakout season.
