I feel some sort of obligation to finish this Top 20 countdown I started, even though two of my then-Top 5 are now members of the Miami Heat. Regardless, we’ve arrived at #7 Dajuan Wagner, one of the greatest Cavaliers of all-time.

Dajuan was born in New Jersey in 1983, a great state to be born in if you ask me. His father was Milt Wagner, a former Louisville and NBA stud player. Dajuan was a high school standout; The numbers he put up on a nightly basis were legendary. His senior year, he averaged 42.5 points per game, and scored 3,462 points in high school which is a New Jersey prep school record.

The thing he will likely always be remembered for was when he went Wilt-Chamberlain-status and dropped 100 points in a game. There were some in the media who criticized him as well as his coach for even allowing this to happen, but Dajuan was capable of such a game. He played in the McDonald’s All-American Game and dropped 25 points.

Similar to Derrick Rose, he was recruited to the University of Memphis but played only one year for the Tigers. After drawing comparisons to Allen Iverson, he entered the 2002 NBA Draft and was expected to go early in the 1st round. That assumption was fulfilled when the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted him 6th overall. His rookie season was pretty impressive, he scored 13.4 points a game and was a force to be reckoned with offensively. That was his best season in a Cavaliers uniform, and perhaps his only that was memorable. 

His career could have been much more special had Dajuan not been hampered by health problems and nagging injuries. In the 2004-05 season, he only appeared in 11 games and scored a career low 4 points per game. Not exactly what you come to expect from the guy who scored 25 times that in a single game. He was hospitalized for ulcerative colitis.. ouch.

The Cavs chose not to exercise his contract option for the 05-06 season, and Dajuan was a man without a team. It was reported that his colitis condition was not treatable with medication, and after speaking with a New York medical expert he underwent an operation to remove his entire colon.

He attempted a comeback in September of 2006 when he signed a two year deal with the Golden State Warriors. Unfortunately, just two months later the Warriors bought out his contract and he was out of the league again.

In 2007 he decided to “take his talents to Poland,” and Dajuan inked a one-year deal with Polish team Prokom. I feel for Dajuan, and wish his injuries hadn’t derailed his NBA career. He was honestly a great player to watch play the game. His ability to shoot the rock as well as drive through the paint made him a Cavalier favorite. One of the things that I’ll always remember was how he covered the ball like a running back when he drove, and then whipped it out last second to finish an impossible layup.  For a smaller guy, he sure could throw down a nasty dunk when he felt like it.  Dajuan Wagner was a Cavalier great, and had things turned out differently, he could still be a franchise player. Dajuan Wagner is Underrated