Tristan Thompson In Conversation With Darius Garland

Every rookie needs his vet. Same as a professional mentor, the veteran helps the newbie find his sea legs upon the choppy waters of an NBA career. He shepherds the youngster through the ins and outs. He blesses the soon-to-be 1-percenter with holdover gifts and a little cash in the months before those first few paydays are realized, and yes, he asks for a favor or two in the meantime. 

For Darius Garland, the Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star point guard, that veteran was Tristan Thompson, the big man who has spent 11 of his 13 NBA seasons in Cleveland. Through injuries and moments of doubt, Thompson has remained a steady presence in Garland’s corner.

By now, Garland, a two-time All-Star in his sixth season, is solidly a vet. The son of NBA star Winston Garland, who played eight seasons professionally, Garland’s abilities on the court were obvious from an early age, prompting his family to move from his hometown of Gary, Indiana, to Nashville, Tennessee, in search of better competition. By eighth grade, Garland was playing for his high school’s varsity team. His three Tennessee Mr. Basketball awards propelled the five-star recruit to Vanderbilt University, where he would play for one season before entering the NBA. 

But the ball hasn’t always bounced his way. At Vanderbilt, he started hot, but a meniscus injury sidelined him for all but five games. Chosen fifth in the 2019 NBA Draft, the 19-year-old — the first player born in the 2000s to play in the NBA — joined a fledgling Cavs team that would go 19-46 in his COVID-abbreviated rookie season. Cleveland.com called Garland the worst player in the NBA that season. By Garland’s third year, he was named an All-Star for the first time and led the Cavaliers to a spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament. That performance earned him a third-place finish for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award.

Last year, setbacks returned. A series of injury woes included a head injury, nagging back pain and a broken jaw that required surgery. Garland missed 19 games and spent much of that time taking his meals through a straw while his jaw was wired shut. Off the court, he mourned the loss of his grandmother. Still, his respectable averages of 18.0 points, 6.5 assists and 37.1% from the 3-point line helped the Cavs reach the conference semifinals. 

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So, yes, Garland has earned his stripes, but there is one thing he has left to learn from Thompson — how to win an NBA championship. In his 11 seasons here, Thompson has given the Cavs great consistency, setting the franchise record in 2016 for most consecutive games played (his run ended at 447, the longest active streak in the NBA at the time). He played a major role in the 2016 championship, averaging 10 points and 10 rebounds in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. Most important, playing alongside Cavs legends LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving taught him what it took to perform at the highest level. 

Now, Garland hopes Thompson can spread a little bit of that magic to help him bring the title back home to Cleveland this year. The Cavs enter the playoffs as one of the NBA’s best teams. Led by the Core Four of Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Garland, the team’s 31-4 start was one of the best in NBA history, and they stayed hot leading into April. More than any Cleveland professional sports team since 2016, this group seems primed to make a championship run.

But for Garland, it’s personal. It’s about making a statement to all those who doubted him: It’s revenge season. 

Starting Hot

Tristan Thompson: What has been your mindset coming into this season? You had the injury last year, multiple injuries, and that was probably a difficult time for you, just because how much you love the game and how much you love playing basketball and having that taken away from you. What was your mindset coming into training camp in Sarasota? Because everyone noticed that your demeanor was different. It was more like you had a chip on your shoulder.

Darius Garland: No, we had a lot of conversations about this. It was, quote-unquote, the revenge season. It’s a lot of people on the list that I wanted to get my get back, and a lot of people counted me out and doubted me from last year. So I just had that in my memory bank and just worked my butt off this summer. I was in the weight room a lot, trying to get my body back right. In the gym a lot, just trying to sharpen up my tools. But this year was literally a revenge season, just for all the doubters and the haters that just counted me out from last year with all the stuff I was going through. So this year, you’re getting a product from what everybody else was talking about last year.

TT: Correct me if I’m wrong: I think, as an athlete, sometimes it’s good to be in a situation where people kind of think less or doubt what your abilities can be. Because, I think, as we go in our career, you kind of need something to re-spark the fire, right? Tell me if I’m wrong, because you’ve had so much success in your career so far. Did having last year kind of — I wouldn’t say fall back in love but — make you, like, “All right, I got more in the tank.”

DG: Yeah, it was like a wake-up call, really. Like, you hit a wall. Now, what you gonna do after that? What’s the next move gonna be? Are you gonna push through this wall? Are you just gonna just lay here like a dead monkey or something?

TT: You can’t be a dead monkey. 

DG: No, you can’t be a dead monkey. 

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TT: You can see DG, this year, he’s been very aggressive. He’s got a list of players, coaches, media, front office, everybody on that list. So, he’s dedicated and locked in. So knock him down one by one, like a cone. Bowling pins. 

TT: When you step on the court, what’s your biggest motivation? Is it looking at the opponent and outplaying them? Is it, you know, thinking about your family and you want to go make them proud, or is it a combination? Or are you out there just winging it? You’re just like, you know, see what happens.

DG: My first couple years, I was just going out there and winging it because it was just a learning experience for me, just trying to get my feet wet. But now, growing up, having some years under my belt, it’s really like, “Who’s my opponent? Who am I doing it for?” Which is my family. Always in the back of my mind, I’m like, “My family’s watching.” They really care, and they want me to do good. They want to see me do good, so I just go out there and just do it for them. 

Passing the Rock 

DG: Who was the vet who was there for you early in your career? My vet — big Tristan Thompson — was always great to me, even before I got drafted here. I known him before I got drafted here. When I was 18, he literally took me under his wing. I was out there in L.A. for pre-draft, and he put a shout out to me. Some good times. Some great workouts. Lifting together. Working out together. Spending time going to dinner together. Good fellowship. 

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DG: Tristan, who is the vet that you learned from early in your career?

TT: I had a good vet: Antawn Jamison. Antawn Jamison made a lot of money, and he was a great vet. You know, one thing about ’Tawn is that [the 2011-12 Cavs] were rebuilding. We stunk. We were horrible. But he always came in as a professional. Came in on time. Got his work in. Treatment. He did everything as a pro. For me, as a young kid, knowing that he was an All-Star at one point, seeing the dedication he had for a team that’s literally rebuilding and, like, literally serves him no purpose, right? For him to still be a professional [told me] that you can’t take this for granted, and you gotta really absorb it because things can change, right? Like me getting drafted here — they’re trading JJ Hickson, right? Because, you know, they didn’t think it’s the right fit. So, I understood the responsibility I had and what was expected. So I’m glad he was my vet. He always made sure I was good. He only asked me a couple times for requests: some candy, some wings. But then after that, he’d always give me an extra $200, $100. But the best gift he gave me was the [Kanye West x Louis Vuitton Red Dons]. 

DG: Reeeealllyyyy…

TT: Yeah, so he had a big Louis deal. Like, he had a Louis person that would give everything. He had every bag, every shirt, every pair of shoes. So I remember as a young boy, I was like, “’Tawn, I’m trying to get these Louis Don Kanyes.” He’s like, “Which ones? Show me a picture.” He’s like, “I’ll give them to you.” I’m like, “Yo, for real. I’ll pay you.” He’s like, “I got you young fella. I’m blessing you with them.” I still have them until this day. I still rock them. Shout out to Jamison. 

DG: He gave them to you? Because listen, them shoes are super exclusive. 

TT: Anyone that knows the Kanye Louis Vuitton sneakers are crazy exclusive — up there, up there, top tier. So for him to give them to a rookie like myself, I was very appreciative.

TT: So I pay it forward, I think, because he was good to me, and I feel like I’m good to others, like yourself, because he was good to me. So when you came in, I’m like, I’m your little bro and, you know, you’re my rook.

DG: You were good to me. You sent me on a couple missions. 

TT: A little sweat equity. It’ll come back around.

DG: You blessed me well, though. A little $200, $300 there. I got some good Uber Eats with that.

DG: Who is one NBA legend you’d play one on one with?

TT: Hmmm… Shaq. I’m so upset that he retired the year I got into the NBA because it was the lockout year. Shaq was like, “I’m not about to sit around and wait. I’m going to retire.” I was like, “Dang, I wanted to go against Shaq.” He’s heavy, though.

DG: How would you rebound against Shaq? You’re a great rebounder, but that’s a heavy guy. 

TT: Big boy. My defense rebounding would be a zero out of 10. I’d have no chance. But offensive rebound… I’m just gonna use some tricks, like push off his back. But, no, yeah, defensive rebounding, I have no chance. 

DG: You still use that trick, too. I’ve seen that a little bit.

TT: Yeah, a little booster. Little booster seat. 

TT: Who was your favorite player to watch growing up?

DG: My dad. 

TT: Shout out Winston!

DG: Winston Garland the GOAT. Love you, pops. Kyrie [Irving]. Cavs legend, of course. Steph [Curry]… sorry. 

TT: I’m over it now. Time heals all wounds. 

DG: I watched a little bit of Dame [Lillard], and then, like, some older guys, like Isaiah Thomas, Steve Nash. 

TT: I mean, those are all Hall of Famers.

DG: Facts. For sure. Some real dogs.

TT: But the realest one’s Winston. 

DG: You heard it here. 

TT: I don’t care about none of those other names. Winston, the realest. 

DG: Pops, you a dog.

Homeward Bound 

TT: What was the first thing you bought after getting your first NBA check? That was a big check.

DG: It was not. 

TT: Well, it’s bigger now. 

DG: Probably, like, five times bigger. The first thing I bought, I bought my mom a Range Rover. 

DG: What about you? I know the check wasn’t that big back then. 

TT: 2010-11 was kind of smaller. The first thing I did was I told mom to retire. Don’t work ever again. The first thing I purchased was actually in Cleveland at a car dealership, [Morris Cadillac Buick GMC, owned by] Robert Morris. I bought myself an Escalade. Back then, $60K, not much. Now, they’re $120K, easy.

DG: Sheesh. 

TT: Yeah, inflation.

DG: What’s your craziest interaction with a fan?

TT: I’ve had so many, bro. After the [championship] parade, a car followed me home. He was,  like, 60 or 70, an older man. He just wanted to take a picture. He knocked at my door, and at first, I’m like, “Man, what was this, like, a Jehovah Witness? ‘Are you ready for Jesus to come save you?’” But he just wanted a selfie. So I took one with him.

DG: At your front door, though?

TT: Yeah. At first I was going to knock him out, but I just realized he was old, but [if] he was like 40, I would have knocked him out. But 60? You gotta let gramps slide. But that was a crazy interaction.

TT: You probably have a crazy one, too, because you’re from the era of social media and TikTok. What’s the craziest thing anyone has ever tweeted you or DM’d you? You got any stalkers?

DG: Yeah, man. A lot of stalkers, especially with the sports betting. During the game, I heard a guy say, “Bro, you’re screwing my parlay.” I don’t want to hear about your parlay. Especially against Dallas, when I didn’t play a lot of minutes, so I got a lot of harsh words because I didn’t get to 20 points. If I went through my DMs right now, you’d see a lot of curse words. “You F’d up my parlay.”

TT: I don’t have those problems right now. You probably don’t want me on your fantasy team. If someone got me on their fantasy team, they’re not going to do very well. See, whenever you can make fun of yourself, you take back the power.

DG: What’s one thing people don’t know about life as an NBA player? What does an average day look like?

TT: Usually we practice at 11 a.m., but I’ll try to get here an hour before. Get my weights in for about 30 minutes. Get on the court for 30 minutes. Practice starts with film. Coach Kenny [Atkinson] makes sure film’s not too long. About 30 minutes. Come out. We’ll do a little walk through. So that’s 10 minutes. D Mill [strength and conditioning coach Derek Millender] gets 10 minutes of stretching, because at the end of the day, we gotta get our bodies warm to be activated. God forbid, we don’t want nothing bad to happen to us. So we’re at about 12 p.m. now, and we start practice. As a veteran team like ours, practices are not too crazy. When I was on rebuild teams that… stunk, practice was way longer. 

DG: My first year. 

TT: Yeah, but I’ve had way worse. When you’ve been around the block, you see the tides go up and down. With our team right now, we’ll probably practice for about 90 minutes. So that gets us to about 1:30 p.m. Practice done. Hit some free throws. Get some shots up. You have about 1:40 p.m. Probably get a treatment, a shower. By the time you do all that, you’re probably in your car by about 2:30 p.m. Get home by around 3 p.m., then I have lunch ready for me, because I have a chef. 

TT: Gotta keep this six pack — dad bod.

DG: Dad bod for sure. 

TT shoots DG a look.

TT: Because Darius said that we’ll have two training camps now. 

TT: So anyways, by time I’m finished, it’s 4 p.m. That’s it in terms of my day, but for me personally, I’ll watch some Martin for a couple hours, some Seinfeld, The Office. 7 p.m. comes. I use my NBA League Pass. That’s free, by the way, because of our collective bargaining agreement. So I watch NBA until about midnight, and then I go to sleep and I do it again.

DG: Groundhog Day. What about game days? 

TT: Game days are different. The day starts a little earlier. We have shootaround at 10 a.m., so I try to get here by 9 a.m. Go to shoot for about 45 minutes. So we’re about 10:45 a.m. Get some shots up. By the time I’m done with that, it’s 11 a.m. Go in the sauna for about 20 minutes because I like to try to keep my skin young and youthful and sweat everything out, you know, sweat from the inside out. You know, I’m trying to find the fountain of youth to keep up with you guys. I tell myself every day, “Don’t let the old man in. You let the old man in, you’re cooked.” 

TT: By the time I get in my car and get home, it’s about noon. Chef has lunch. Then I’ll take a nap until about 3:30 p.m. Then I’ll get up, put on my Nike Tech Fit — because I only throw on nice outfits when it’s national TV games. Our staff knows I only put on ’fits when it’s national TV games. When it’s a regular game, I put my Nike Tech Fit on. I’m at the arena by 4:30 p.m. I’m on the court by 5 p.m. I shoot for 10 minutes, and DG comes. I dap him up, and he starts working out, and I go to the back to do conditioning. Told you, I try to keep my fountain of youth going. And then get ready for the game. And then after the game, me and DG, we figure out where we’re gonna go eat at. We can’t decide until 10 minutes before the restaurant closes, so we call, “Hey, coming in. Do us a favor. Stay open late.” “For sure. We love you guys. Go Cavs.” Then we’ll eat, and we probably won’t get home till about midnight, 12:30 a.m., and then that’s the end of the day for us. 

DG: Do it all over again.

TT: So I think the toughest thing for us as NBA players is the travel. I think people don’t understand the fact that we could play a game at 7 p.m. By time we’re done, shower, get on the bus, get on the plane, land in the next city. It’s probably 2:30 in the morning, right? And imagine it’s a back-to-back. You play the next day at 7 p.m. Like, yeah, it’s easy playing basketball, but it’s not easy playing basketball when you have all the other variables.

DG: I think that’s what makes it tough, too, definitely the travel, especially in this weather now. You know, sick. Not knowing who’s in and out of the lineup. And you might get a plane delay here. Snow in the next city, can’t get out. So yeah, I think that’s definitely one of the biggest things that we’re going through.

DG: What is your least favorite city?

TT: Hmm... should I go arena or least favorite city? Because sometimes the arena energy is so bad. Those are two different things. 

DG: Yeah, the arena really means a lot in the way of games.

TT: Because, sometimes, we go to some of these arenas, and it’s like a preseason game. The energy is so bad. I mean, this season the name that comes to mind is the Charlotte Hornets. That basically becomes a home game for us. Oh, D.C.’s energy’s dead, too. 

DG: D.C. Yeah, that’s my one, too.

TT: That arena has taken a hit. But back when they had John Wall, Bradley Beal, it was rocking.

DG: Yeah? 

TT: Chocolate City was rocking for real. Now, it’s ghost town. The chocolate is all expired. 

DG: They need Willie Wonka back. What about [Sacramento]?

TT: The arena is great. The city … Sac is basically Milwaukee in California. So that’s pretty bad. You’re paying California tax to live in Milwaukee. It’s Northern California, too, not southern California. It’s even worse. Like, no sun. They got, like, hay. You know, Phil Jackson called it Cowtown.

DG: For real? 

TT: Yeah. So whenever the Lakers back in the day used to play there, they had the cowbells. Shout out Sacramento. Congratulations, you are the Milwaukee of California.

DG: What’s the nickname with Sac?

TT: Sactown, but I call it Trash Town.

DG: Sack of potatoes. 

DG: What about Portland? It’s depressing in Portland.

TT: Yeah, it’s a tough spot. It’s a tough spot on the road. I hear it’s great in the summertime, but unfortunately, we play a fall/winter sport. Everywhere is great in the summertime. A squirrel can always find a nut. 

DG: Psh, big dog, been around. Big dog.

Championship City 

DG: What was it like to help bring Cleveland’s first NBA championship [over the Golden State Warriors] in 2016? What does this city mean to you?

TT: It means everything. When I got drafted here, the one thing everyone was always talking about was a 52-year drought with no championship. Of course, with the Browns going to Baltimore and winning [a Super Bowl], that hurt a lot of this city’s heart. So for me, the motivation was “Win a championship.” When we won, all I could think about was the fans. I remember meeting people, like, guys in their 60s, and they’re like, you know, in tears, saying, “Thank you. I’m able to be alive and see the city win a championship.” So those are the memories that I cherish the most. 

TT: Obviously, Cleveland’s home to me. Been here since I was 19. I’m 33 now. So it’s been a long time. I’ve been around the block, and I keep showing up. Cleveland’s everything to me. It’s a part of me. It’s a part of my DNA, and I’m happy to still be here with you and watch you grow and blossom into the star that you are.

DG: Thank you, man. I appreciate it. 

TT: How old were you when the Cavaliers won the championship in 2016?

DG: I was 16. A sophomore in high school. I definitely watched y’all run, for sure. That was a great run. 

DG: What is your favorite memory from winning an NBA championship with the Cavs in 2016?

TT: My favorite memory is winning in Oracle [Arena], winning game seven. I remember the final timeout. It was like 1:20 left, and I think we might have been up three. Remember, I’m old. So my memory is a little fried sometimes. I think there was less than a minute left. There was a timeout. We were up, and I remember our section was like, “Let’s go, Cavs!” The Cleveland people literally took over the whole arena. And like, one thing about Oracle, the way that arena is set up, the sound bounces off the metal frame, so it gets really loud in there. And [the Golden State fans] were, like, dead silent, quiet. They were shocked. That was dope. 

TT: The best thing is pouring champagne in someone else’s locker room, especially because they got us a year before. When they sprayed, that champagne smelled good. Smelled good in that Cleveland locker room. I wanted my lick back.

DG: I heard y’all left something in the locker room, like y’all had to come back. 

TT: After game five, when [Le]Bron [James] and Kyrie [Irving] had 40 — go crazy. T Lue [coach Tyronn Lue] and Bron, they’re like, “Everyone put $100 into this pot, and we’re gonna leave it.” They left it in the ceiling and said, “We’re going to come back and get that money.” That was game five. So game five, we win that, so [the series is] 3-2. Go back to Cleveland. Win game six, and then we win game seven. I don’t know where that money is. I don’t know if Bron ever got the money.

Finishing Strong 

TT: If things go as planned, we should be in the playoffs and, hopefully, make a run. What’s your feeling about it? Obviously this will be your third playoff season. What’s your expectation? What’s your mindset going into it? How are you preparing yourself for that journey?

DG: You know, we’ve been in the playoffs for a couple years now, so the younger guys got a good feel for it. Got a good taste of it and know what the atmosphere and what the physicality and stuff like that throughout the game is going to be like. So just going in, just fully locked in on, like, details. I think that’s like the biggest thing for our group is just really honing in on all the details of the opponent that we’re going to be facing, learning everybody’s tendencies, knowing exactly what you want out of your matchup. How are you going to win your matchup for this playoff series? I think that’s what’s gonna get us over the top. We started the off regular season really great. Everybody’s been really riding our wagon for the regular season, and they really want to know what we gonna do in the postseason. So, we just got to keep riding. 

TT: Is that extra motivation for you? Like, at the end of the day, we know who won last year, and obviously that’s the team that’s going to be in our way to get there. When we play a team in the regular season, are you almost, like, trying to get a feel for them? See what you can get away with in terms of where you can get your advantages so when we are in the playoffs, you can exploit it? 

DG: It’s still the same mindset because I know that we will see them down the road, down the line, so it’s like you still have to keep that same mindset, but it’s really trial and error until you get to that moment, until you get to those big playoff games. Like, we change up different defensive schemes. We change up some offensive schemes, how we’re going to play our bigs, or how we’re gonna play me and Don[ovan Mitchell] together. So just a little bit of trial and error in the regular season, then we can go back and watch the film until April and May where we really have to dig deep, lock in on all cylinders.

TT: He’s dialed in. You can see it on his face. Revenge season.

DG: Revenge season.

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