Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland found out earlier this week that there are some similarities between playing basketball and making pizzas.
“I was flipping the pizza dough a little bit, they said that’s like dribbling, so I was just trying to replicate that,” Garland said. “One guy was telling me when I was putting mozzarella on the pizzas it was like spreading the floor. So I was just trying to spread the mozzarella all around. So trying to use some basketball terms for [making] some pizza, so it was cool.”
Garland spent Monday at Cent’s Pizza + Goods working in the kitchen. He admitted that making pizza is “pretty hard” and not as simple as he thought it would be. A lot goes into making the perfect pie.
“Getting the dough right,” Garland said when asked about what’s the hardest part of making a pizza. “I think just getting the dough at the right consistency, of course, the shape, I think that’s really important. Then the sauce has to be well, the mozzarella has to be well, the toppings have to be perfectly spread around. It’s pretty tough. I take my hat off to them for sure.”
In return for Garland’s pizza-making talents, the restaurant donated all proceeds from that evening to the Darius Garland Foundation, a non-profit that is focused on empowering youth and families through education, wellness, and community connections.
Even though this was a fundraiser, Garland’s main goal wasn’t to make the most money possible for his foundation.
“Just continuing to put smiles on people’s faces in the holiday,” Garland said when asked what he wanted to accomplish during Monday’s event. “Try to brighten up their holiday a little bit.”
Garland certainly did try to put smiles on people’s faces. He graciously posed for pictures with those in attendance after taking the time to greet as many tables as he could. It genuinely seemed like Garland wanted to make sure that everyone left the restaurant well-fed and with a personal interaction with him.
“Doing stuff like this means a lot to me,” Garland said. “Having little small groups like this is super cool to see and interact with certain people that you’ve seen around a little bit, and especially the people that you haven’t met before. You get to spend a little time with them, have a little conversation with them. It’s just super cool interacting with people all around.”
This isn’t just left for when he has a community event. It’s not uncommon to see him take time to sign autographs at games like he did last week during the Cavs’ preseason opener. For Garland, that’s just another way to put a smile on people’s faces.
“Every day, I like putting smiles on people’s faces,” Garland said. “I like smiling. My family’s all about love and smiling, so I try to bring that to Cleveland.”