Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Dion Waiters is proving his critics wrong with a strong start to his first season in the NBA.

The Cavs selected Waiters with the fourth pick in the 2012 NBA Draft and their pick was met with a lot of criticism. Waiters didn't let the negativity get to him, he said:

"Everybody has their own opinion. There's nothing I could do about that. I let my game do the talking."

Waiters is proving himself on the court, averaging 15.4 points, 2.6 assists, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game. He have been particularly effective from beyond the arc through five games, shooting 52% on his 3-point field goals.

Coach Bryon Scott believe the criticism has motivated Waiters early in the season to prove that Cleveland made the right pick in the draft. Waiters is already being mentioned in early conversations about Rookie of the Year, but coach Scott knows that is still a long way off. "He's still going to have some ups and downs ... We've still got a long way to go," Scott said.

The Cavaliers are 2-3 on the season and Waiters is their second leading scorer behind last year's Rookie of the Year, Kyrie Irving.