Everything about The Cleveland Cavaliers totally explained
The
Cleveland Cavaliers (also known as the
Cavs) are a professional
basketball team based in
Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the
National Basketball Association (NBA) as a 1970 expansion team and won their first
Eastern Conference Championship in 2007.
Franchise history
1970–1980: Expansion and early hope
The Cavaliers first began play in the NBA in
1970 as an
expansion team under the ownership of
Nick Mileti. Playing their home games at
Cleveland Arena under the direction of head coach
Bill Fitch, they compiled a league-worst 15–67 record. The team hoped to build around the number one
1971 draft pick
Austin Carr who had set numerous scoring records at
Notre Dame, however Carr severely injured his leg shortly into his pro career and didn't recover sufficiently to become a great pro player.
The following seasons saw the Cavaliers gradually improve their on-court performance, thanks to season-by-season additions of talented players such as
Bingo Smith,
Jim Chones,
Jim Cleamons and
Dick Snyder. Cleveland improved to 23–59 in their
sophomore season, followed by a 32–50 record in 1972-73, and a small step backwards to 29–53 in 1973-74. In
1974, the Cavaliers moved into the brand-new
Richfield Coliseum, located in the cornfields thirty miles south of downtown Cleveland in
Summit County. That
season, the Cavaliers finished with a 40–42 record falling just short of a playoff berth.
In the
1975-76 season with Carr, Smith, Chones, Snyder, and newly acquired
Nate Thurmond; Fitch led the Cavaliers to a 49–33 record and a division title. Fitch received the league's
Coach of the Year award as the Cavs made their first-ever playoff appearance.
The Cavs won the series against the
Washington Bullets, 4–3. Because of the many heroics and last-second shots, the series became known locally as the "Miracle of Richfield." However, hampered by injuries, particularly to Jim Chones, the Cavs proceeded to lose to the
Boston Celtics in Eastern Conference Finals of the
NBA playoffs.
Cleveland won 43 games the next two seasons (1976-77 and 1977-78), but both those seasons resulted in early playoff exits. After a 30–52 season in
1978-79, Fitch resigned as head coach. The
following season, after going 37–45 under Fitch's successor
Stan Albeck, original owner Mileti sold his shares to minority owner Joe Zingale.
1980–1983: The Stepien years
In
1980, after just a few months, Zingale sold the team to Nationwide Advertising magnate
Ted Stepien. The new owner oversaw the hiring and firing of a succession of coaches and was involved in making a number of poor trade and free agent signing decisions. The result of Stepien's questionable trading acumen was the loss of several of the team's first-round draft picks, which led to a rule change in the NBA prohibiting teams from trading away first-round draft picks in consecutive years. This rule is known as the "Ted Stepien Rule."
Early on in his tenure, Stepien proposed to rename the team the "Ohio Cavaliers", part of a plan that included playing their home games not just in the Cleveland area but also in non-Ohio markets such as
Buffalo,
New York and
Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. He also introduced a
polka-flavored fight song, which was widely-ridiculed by fans and the media.
The ensuing chaos was reflected by the Cavs' on-court performance and attendance woes, going 28–54 in 1980-81 (Stepien's first year as owner), followed by an abysmal 15–67 mark in 1981-82. The 1981-82 team lost its last 19 games of the season which, when coupled with the five losses at the start of the 1982-83 season, constitute the
NBA's all-time longest losing streak at 24 games. Although the team improved its record to 23–59 the
following year, local support for the Cavs eroded which eventually bottomed out that year by averaging only 3,900 fans a game at the cavernous
Coliseum which seated more than 20,000. Stepien threatened to move the franchise to
Toronto and rename it the Toronto Towers, but brothers George and
Gordon Gund purchased the franchise in the mid 1980s and decided to keep the team in Cleveland. (In
1993, Toronto would, in fact, get an expansion franchise, the
Toronto Raptors.) Two years later, the Gunds changed the team colors from wine and gold to burnt orange, red and navy blue. Also, the team officially adopted "Cavs" as a shorter nickname for marketing purposes; it had been used unofficially by fans and headline writers since the team's inception.
1983–1993: A new look
In
1986, under the Gund brothers as owners, the team acquired, either through trades or the
draft,
Brad Daugherty,
Mark Price,
Ron Harper and
Larry Nance. These four players (until Harper was later traded to the
Los Angeles Clippers in 1989 for the rights to
Danny Ferry) formed the core of the team, under the direction of head coach
Lenny Wilkens, that led the Cavs to eight playoff seasons in the next nine years, including three 50+ win seasons.
However, in
1989, the Cavs were paired against the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs. In the fourth game of the best-of-five-series, Cleveland managed to beat the Bulls in overtime 108–105 to level the series at 2–2. Home court advantage went to Cleveland. The game was evenly matched, until Cleveland managed to score on a drive and raise the lead by one, with three seconds left. Chicago called for a time-out. The ball was inbounded to
Michael Jordan, who went for a jump shot. Cleveland's
Craig Ehlo jumped in front to block it, but Jordan seemed to stay in the air until Ehlo landed. "
The Shot" went in as time ran out, with Chicago winning the series 3–2. The buzzer-beater is considered one of Jordan's greatest clutch moments, and the game itself one of the greatest. But the pinnacle of the Cavs' success came in the
1991-92 season, when they compiled a 57–25 record and advanced to the
Eastern Conference finals, losing again to the
Chicago Bulls 4–2.
1993–2003: A long struggle
Soon after, the Cavaliers entered into a period of decline. With the retirements and departures of Nance, Daugherty and Price, the team lost much of its dominance and were no longer able to contest strongly during the playoffs. After the
1992-93 season, in which the Cavs boasted a 54–28 regular-season record but suffered an early exit from the playoffs, Wilkens left to coach the
Atlanta Hawks.
Following the hiring of
Mike Fratello as head coach starting with the
1993-94 season, the Cavs became one of the NBA's best defensive teams under the leadership of point guard
Terrell Brandon. But the offense, which was a half-court, "slow-down" tempo installed by Fratello, met with mixed success. Although the Cavaliers made regular playoff appearances, they were unable to advance beyond the first round.
In
1994, the Cavs moved back to downtown Cleveland with the opening of the 20,562-seat, state-of-the-art,
Gund Arena. Known by locals as "the Gund", the venue also served as the site of the
1997 NBA All-Star Game.
Later on, players like
Shawn Kemp and
Žydrūnas Ilgauskas added quality to the team, but without further success. Fratello was fired following the shortened
1998-99 season.
2003–present: The LeBron James era
Several losing seasons followed which saw the Cavaliers drop to the bottom of the league and become a perennial lottery draft team. After another disappointing season in
2002-03, the Cavaliers landed the number one draft pick in the
NBA Lottery. The Cavaliers selected local high school phenomenon
LeBron James. Also in 2003 the team colors were changed from burnt orange, red and navy blue back to wine and gold along with a new primary logo.
James' status as both an area star (having played his high school basketball at
St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in nearby
Akron) and as one of the most highly touted prospects in NBA history led many to view his selection as a turning point in the franchise's history. Embraced by Clevelanders as "King James" and
"Breezy", the
2003-04 season offered great hope for the future, as James rose to become a dominating player, winning the
NBA Rookie of the Year Award.
Hope was even greater for the
2004-05 season. James blossomed into a superstar, increasing his points average, shooting percentage, assists average, and rebounds average. Despite the loss of
Carlos Boozer under very
controversial circumstances, James teamed with
Žydrūnas Ilgauskas and
Drew Gooden to form the core of the Cavs team. After a promising start when the team seemed to be locked firmly into the Eastern Conference's fifth playoff spot, the Cavs began a downward spiral that eventually led to the firing of coach
Paul Silas and general manager
Jim Paxson. The Cavs failed to make the playoffs that year, tied with the resurgent
New Jersey Nets for the eighth (and final) playoff spot (the Nets owned the tiebreaker over the Cavs).
The
2005 offseason was one of many changes for the Cavaliers. Under new owner
Dan Gilbert (also the owner of
Quicken Loans), who became majority owner in March 2005, the team hired a new coach,
Mike Brown, and a new general manager, former Cavaliers forward Danny Ferry. The Cavaliers experienced success on the court in the following season, clinching their first playoff appearance since the
1997-98 season. After a first round win over the
Washington Wizards, the Cavaliers rebounded from a 2–0 deficit in the second round against the
Detroit Pistons, winning three consecutive games to come one game away from the conference finals. However, they lost a close Game 6 at home, and followed it with a 79–61 loss in Game 7. The Cavaliers set two records for futility deciding playoff games: least points scored in a game (61) and least points scored in a half (23). The playoff rounds were a showcase for the emergence of LeBron James, who achieved many "youngest ever to..." records considering during the run.
In 2007, the Cavs continued their success, officially clinching a playoff spot
March 27th of the season. The team earned the second seed with a 50–32 record, generating a series of favorable matchups which included home court advantage until the conference finals. The Cavaliers' first-round was a rematch with the 7th-seeded Wizards, who finished 41–41 and struggled with injuries down the stretch to finish 2–8 in their last 10 games. The Cavaliers swept this series 4–0 (the first sweep in playoff history for the franchise) and faced the
New Jersey Nets in the second round. They won the series 4–2 with James scoring 23 points and adding 8 rebounds and 8 assists in Game 6 as the Cavs beat the Nets 88–72.
The Cavaliers faced the Pistons for the second straight playoff year, this time in the Eastern Conference Finals. After again losing the first two games at Detroit, the Cavaliers won the next three to take a 3–2 series lead. This year the Cavaliers eliminated Detroit in Game 6, becoming only the third team in Conference Finals history to come back from a 0–2 deficit and win. The wins included a 109–107 double-overtime thriller at the
Palace of Auburn Hills in Game 5, in which LeBron James scored the last 25 points for the Cavs, and his performance in this game is recognized as one of the best in NBA history. They continued to a dominant 98–82 win at home in Game 6. Rookie Daniel "Boobie" Gibson scored a career-high 31 points in the series clincher, and franchise won its first ever Eastern Conference championship. The team's first trip to the NBA finals was a short one, as they were outmatched and outplayed by the very strong
San Antonio Spurs, who swept the Cavs 4-0.
After struggling through an inconsistent
2007-08 regular season which saw the Cavaliers go 45-37, they met the
Wizards in the first round of the playoffs for the third straight year. The Cavaliers jumped out to a three games to one lead, but failed to close out the series at home, as James missed a potential game-winning layup at the end of the game. In game 6, James had a triple double and led the team to a 105-88 win and a 4-2 series win. They moved on to face the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the 2nd round. The Cavaliers lost four games to three in a series that featured the home team winning all seven games. James scored 45 points in game 7, but it wasn't enough as the Boston's
Paul Pierce scored 41 points to lead the Celtics to victory.
Uniforms
The Cavaliers' uniforms switched from the blue and black jerseys to wine and gold jerseys in 2003.
Their home jerseys are white with wine lettering of the name and navy blue lettering on the numbers. Their away jerseys are wine with a gold trim and white lettering on the name and number. Their alternate jerseys are navy blue with a checkerboard trim of wine and gold. They wear white socks and shoes for this type of jersey, while they wear black shoes and socks when wearing the wine jerseys.
Season-by-season records
Home arenas
» Cleveland Arena (1970–1974)
Coliseum at Richfield (1974–1994)
» Quicken Loans Arena (formerly called
Gund Arena) (1994–present)
The
Quicken Loans Arena
created some notoriety when it added
the DIFF to the scoreboard—the difference between the two teams' scores. This scoreboard addition made such an impact that Tom Batiuk, author of the comic strip,
Crankshaft, created a Sunday morning entry "honoring" (or lamenting?) it.
Quicken Loans, also owned by Dan Gilbert, began the
Quicken Loans blog, themed, "What's the DIFF," pointing out "the DIFF" between "average and excellent." The blog, of course honored Crankshaft's lament of
the DIFF.
Cleveland Clinic Courts
In
2007 the Cavaliers opened their new state-of-the-art practice facility, Cleveland Clinic Courts, in
Independence, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb. Cleveland Clinic Courts is widely considered the best facility in the league. It features many extravagant luxuries, 2 courts, a team meeting room, front office offices, as well as a kitchen among other features. Cleveland Clinic Courts replaces the former 1-court center the team used within
Quicken Loans Arena.
Players of note
- Nate Thurmond- Player 1985 (Former player 1975-1977)
- Walt Frazier - Player 1987 (Former player 1977-1980)
- Lenny Wilkens- Player 1989 and Coach 1998 (Former player (1972-1974) and coach (1986-1993))
- Chuck Daly- Coach 1994 (Former coach 1981-1982)
- Wayne Embry Contributor 1999 (Former team president and G.M. (1986-1999) and first African American to serve in that role in the NBA)
Retired numbers
7 Bingo Smith, F, 1970–79
22 Larry Nance, F, 1988–94
25 Mark Price, G, 1986–95
34 Austin Carr, G, 1971–80
42 Nate Thurmond, C, 1975–77
43 Brad Daugherty, C, 1986–94
Current roster
Coaches and others
Coaches
High points
Franchise leaders
Career
Games – Danny Ferry (723)
Minutes Played – Hot Rod Williams (20,802)
Field Goals Made – Austin Carr (4,272)
Field Goal Attempts – Austin Carr (9,480)
3-Point Field Goals Made – Mark Price (802)
3-Point Field Goal Attempts – Mark Price (1,960)
Free Throws Made – Brad Daugherty (2,741)
Free Throw Attempts – Brad Daugherty (3,670)
Offensive Rebounds – Žydrūnas Ilgauskas*(2,065)
Defensive Rebounds – Brad Daugherty (4,020)
Total Rebounds – Brad Daugherty (5,227)
Assists – Mark Price (4,206)
Steals – Mark Price (734)
Blocked Shots – Hot Rod Williams (1,200)
Turnovers – Brad Daugherty (1,511)
Personal Fouls – Žydrūnas Ilgauskas*(2,225)
Points – LeBron James*(10,689)
* Active
Per game
Minutes Played – LeBron James (41.4748)
Field Goals Made – LeBron James (9.6303)
Field Goals Attempted – LeBron James (21.0042)
3-Point Field Goals Made – Dan Majerle (1.7805)
3-Point Field Goal Attempted – Dan Majerle (5.0488)
Free Throws Made – LeBron James (5.9874)
Free Throws Attempted – LeBron James (8.0252)
Offensive Rebounds – Žydrūnas Ilgauskas (3.1772)
Defensive Rebounds – Cliff Robinson (8.1056)
Total Rebounds – Rick Roberson (11.952)
Assists – Andre Miller (8.2245)
Steals – Ron Harper (2.3246)
Blocked Shots – Larry Nance (2.5104)
Turnovers – Shawn Kemp (3.3775)
Personal Fouls – James Edwards (4.4348)
Points – LeBron James (26.5)
Per 48 minutes
Field Goals Made – World B. Free (12.5158)
Field Goals Attempted – World B. Free (27.5801)
3-Point Field Goals Made – Damon Jones (3.2153)
3-Point Field Goals Attempted – Damon Jones (8.5206)
Free Throws Made – Shawn Kemp (8.5796)
Free Throws Attempted – Shawn Kemp (11.2589)
Offensive Rebounds – Chris Dudley (6.4515)
Defensive Rebounds – Cliff Robinson (11.7721)
Total Rebounds – Rick Roberson (16.5464)
Assists – Brevin Knight (12.5395)
Steals – Foots Walker (3.3854)
Blocked Shots – Elmore Smith (4.2677)
Turnovers – Shawn Kemp (4.9097)
Personal Fouls – Mark West (8.3082)
Points – World B. Free (33.3947)
Individual awards
NBA Rookie of the Year
LeBron James – 2004
NBA Coach of the Year
Bill Fitch – 1976
NBA Coach of the Month
George Karl - February 1985
Lenny Wilkens - April 1988,
December 1988, February 1993
Mike Fratello - December 1994, December 1995
Mike Brown – January 2008
NBA Executive of the Year
Wayne Embry – 1992, 1998
NBA All-Rookie First Team
Austin Carr – 1972
Dwight Davis – 1973
Brad Daugherty – 1987
Ron Harper – 1987
John Williams – 1987
Brevin Knight – 1998
Zydrunas Ilgauskas – 1998
Andre Miller – 2000
LeBron James – 2004
NBA All-Rookie Second Team
Terrell Brandon – 1992
Cedric Henderson – 1998
Derek Anderson – 1998
Chris Mihm – 2001
Carlos Boozer – 2003
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All-NBA First Team
Mark Price – 1993
LeBron James – 2006
LeBron James - 2008
All-NBA Second Team
LeBron James – 2005, 2007
All-NBA Third Team
Mark Price – 1989, 1992, 1994
Brad Daugherty – 1992
NBA All-Defensive First Team
Larry Nance – 1989
NBA All-Defensive Second Team
Jim Cleamons – 1976
Jim Brewer – 1976, 1977
Larry Nance – 1992, 1993
Bobby Phills – 1996
NBA Player of the Month
LeBron James – November 2004,
January 2005, November 2005,
March 2006, March 2007,
January 2008, February 2008
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John Johnson - 1971, 1972
Butch Beard - 1972
Lenny Wilkens - 1973, 1989 (Head Coach)
Austin Carr - 1974
Campy Russell - 1979
Mike Mitchell - 1981
Brad Daugherty - 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993
Larry Nance - 1989, 1993
Mark Price - 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994
Tyrone Hill - 1995
Terrell Brandon - 1996, 1997
Shawn Kemp - 1998*
Žydrūnas Ilgauskas - 2003, 2005
LeBron James - 2005*, 2006* (MVP), 2007*, 2008* (MVP)
starter *
Mark Price - 1988 (5th), 1990 (7th), 1993 (1st), 1994 (1st)
Craig Ehlo - 1990 (5th), 1992 (6th)
Bob Sura - 2000 (8th)
Wesley Person - 2002 (2nd)
Damon Jones - 2007 (5th)
Daniel Gibson - 2008 (2nd)
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Roy Hinson - 1986 (7th)
Ron Harper - 1987 (5th), 1989 (7th)
Bob Sura - 1997 (5th)
LeBron James - 2006 (2nd), 2007 (3rd)
Chris Mills - 1994
Bob Sura - 1996
Vitaly Potapenko - 1997
Žydrūnas Ilgauskas - 1998 (MVP)
Brevin Knight - 1998
Cedric Henderson - 1998
Derek Anderson - 1998 (DNP)
Andre Miller - 2000 (R), 2001 (S)
Chris Mihm - 2002 (S)
Carlos Boozer - 2003 (R), 2004 (S)
Dajuan Wagner - 2003 (R)
LeBron James - 2004 (R), 2005 (S)
Daniel Gibson - 2008 (S, MVP)
Two Ball Contest
Wesley Person w/ Michelle Edwards - 1998 (7th)
Trajan Langdon w/ Eva Nemcova - 2001 (2nd)
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Media
Radio
WTAM (AM 1100) in Cleveland is the flagship station of a 16 station Cavaliers radio network . Select games can be heard on WMMS (FM 100.7) when there's a conflict with the Cleveland Indians. All playoff games air on WTAM, and any conflicted Indians games go to WMMS.
Veteran broadcaster Joe Tait has served as the team's radio play-by-play announcer since its inception in 1970, with a brief break away from the team in the period when it was owned by Ted Stepien. Tait is considered one of the prominent announcers in professional sports. On March 26, 2008, Tait was honored by the organization for calling his 3,000th Cleveland Cavaliers game..
WTAM Sports Director Mike Snyder hosts the pre-game, halftime, and post-game shows. As of November 2007, legendary Cavalier big man and color analyst Jim Chones joins Snyder for the post-game show after Cavalier home games.
Television
The vast majority of Cavaliers' TV games air on cable and satellite on FSN Ohio, with select games (both regular season and playoffs) simulcast on WUAB (Channel 43) in Cleveland, the longtime free TV home of the Cavs. Channel 43 has aired games from 1973 to 1987, from 1994 to present.
Play-by-play announcer Fred McLeod and analyst Austin Carr, a former Cavaliers star, handle local TV commentary. Veteran Cleveland sportscaster Jeff Phelps and former Cavaliers star Campy Russell host the pre-game, halftime, and post-game shows.
Mascots
Moondog
Moondog is the official mascot of the Cavaliers. Like a growing number of NBA Mascots, the character has a unique connection not just to the team, but to city or area. Cleveland is known worldwide as the rock and roll city, due to famed Cleveland radio disc jockey Alan Freed, who coined the phrase "rock and roll", breaking new ground and sparking a music explosion.
Freed called himself the "Moondog", and his listeners were "Moondoggers". When the Cavaliers looked to create a new mascot which represents the city, Moondog was a natural selection. Like Alan Freed, the mascot aims to be innovative, fun-loving, passionate and controversial.
Moondog was an NBA All-Star selection in 2003 and 2004. He is best known for his behind the back half-court shot and fierce loyalty to his Cavaliers. His first appearance was on November 5, 2003.
Whammer
Whammer is the former mascot of the Cavs. He is a polar bear who is said to have grown up in the tundra. He still makes various appearances throughout the year at Cavalier games. At halftime he'd dunk the ball into the basket. He made his debut in a November 9, 1995 game against the Chicago Bulls. Recently when Moondog, the current Cavaliers mascot was asked what Whammer was up to these days he responded "He e-mails the braintrust of the Cavs about twice a week trying to get his old job back. I throw him a bone occasionally and invite him back, mostly to mock him. Finally he's good for a laugh."
Further Information
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