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Cleveland Cavaliers

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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) in 1970 as an 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 did not 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

File:Cleveland Cavaliers logo 1983-94.gif
Logo from 1983-1994.

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

File:ClevelandCavaliersOld1.png
Logo from 1994–2003. This is the last logo to date referencing the team as the "Cavs".

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 in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals to the Chicago Bulls, 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

Cleveland Cavaliers versus Chicago Bulls in the Quicken Loans Arena in 2006

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," 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 increased his production in terms of points, rebounds, and assists per game. Despite the loss of Carlos Boozer in the offseason, James teamed with Žydrūnas Ilgauskas and Drew Gooden to form the core of the team. After a promising start, the Cavs began a downward spiral that eventually led to the firing of coach Paul Silas and general manager Jim Paxson. The team failed to make the playoffs that year, tied with New Jersey Nets for the final playoff spot, however the Nets owned the tiebreaker.

File:ClevelandCavaliersAlternate.png
Cleveland Cavaliers current alternate logo.

The Cavaliers made many changes in the 2005 offseason. Under new owner Dan Gilbert, the team hired a new coach, Mike Brown, and a new general manager, former Cavaliers forward Danny Ferry. The team experienced success on the court in the following season, clinching their first playoff appearance since 1998. 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. in game seven, the Cavs set two records for futility deciding playoff games: least points scored in a game (61) and in a half (23). The playoff rounds were a showcase for the emergence of LeBron James, who achieved many "youngest ever to..." records during the run.

The Cavs continued their success in the 2006-07 season. The team earned the second seed with a 50–32 record, generating a series of favorable matchups which included home court advantage in the first two rounds. The Cavaliers' first-round was a rematch with the 7th-seeded Wizards, who finished 41–41 and struggled with injuries down the stretch. The Cavaliers swept this series 4–0—the first sweep of a playoff series in franchise history—and faced the New Jersey Nets in the second round. The Cavs won the series 4–2 with James scoring 23 points and adding 8 rebounds and 8 assists in an 88–72 win in Game 6.

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. 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 the 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.

Cleveland Cavaliers guitar in front of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

After struggling through an inconsistent 2007-08 regular season which saw the Cavaliers finish with a record of 45–37, the team 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 in a series that featured the home team winning all of its games. Because of this, and with Boston having more home games, the Cavaliers lost the series 4–3. James scored 45 points in game 7, but it was not enough as Boston's Paul Pierce scored 41 points to lead the Celtics to victory.

Uniforms

The Cavaliers' uniforms switched from the blue, black and orange jerseys to wine and gold jerseys in 2003. The team's original colors were wine and gold, were changed to orange and blue during the mid-1980s, and to blue, black and orange in the mid-1990s.

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

Main article: Cleveland Cavaliers seasons

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

Main article: Cleveland Cavaliers all-time roster

Basketball Hall of Famers

  • 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)

Jimmy O- Master of the hook shot known for smoking winstons during game.

Retired numbers

Current roster

Cleveland Cavaliers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
C 31 Allen, Jarrett Injured 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 243 lb (110 kg) 1998-04-21 Texas
F 21 Bates, Emoni (TW) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2004-01-28 Eastern Michigan
G 10 Garland, Darius 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 2000-01-26 Vanderbilt
G 2 Jerome, Ty Injured 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1997-07-08 Virginia
C 30 Jones, Damian 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1995-06-30 Vanderbilt
G/F 3 LeVert, Caris Injured 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1994-08-25 Michigan
G 5 Merrill, Sam 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1996-05-15 Utah State
G 45 Mitchell, Donovan Injured 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1996-09-07 Louisville
F/C 4 Mobley, Evan 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 2001-06-18 USC
F 15 Mobley, Isaiah (TW) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 238 lb (108 kg) 1999-09-24 USC
F 24 Morris, Marcus Sr. 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1989-09-02 Kansas
F 8 Nance, Pete (TW) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 2000-02-19 North Carolina
F 20 Niang, Georges 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1993-06-17 Iowa State
G/F 35 Okoro, Isaac 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 2001-01-26 Auburn
G 9 Porter, Craig Jr. Injured 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 186 lb (84 kg) 2000-02-26 Wichita State
G/F 1 Strus, Max 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1996-03-28 DePaul
F/C 13 Thompson, Tristan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 254 lb (115 kg) 1991-03-13 Texas
F/C 32 Wade, Dean 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 228 lb (103 kg) 1996-11-20 Kansas State
Head coach
  • Vacant
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (GL) On assignment to G League affiliate
  • (TW) Two-way affiliate player
  • (L) On personal leave
  • Injured Injured

Roster
Last transaction: March 29, 2024

International Rights

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

Per 48 minutes

Individual awards

NBA Rookie of the Year

NBA Coach of the Year

NBA Coach of the Month

NBA Executive of the Year

NBA All-Rookie First Team

NBA All-Rookie Second Team

All-NBA First Team

All-NBA Second Team

All-NBA Third Team

NBA All-Defensive First Team

NBA All-Defensive Second Team

NBA Player of the Month

  • LeBron James – November 2004,
    January 2005, November 2005,
    March 2006, March 2007,
    January 2008, February 2008

NBA All-Star Weekend

NBA All-Star Game

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

Long Distance Shootout

Slam Dunk Contest

Skills Challenge

Rookie Challenge

Two Ball Contest

Media

Radio

WTAM (AM 1100) in Cleveland is the flagship station of a 16 station Cavaliers radio network.[1] Select games can be heard on WMMS (FM 100.7) when there is 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.[2]

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.[3]

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

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 would 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."[4]

References

  1. ^ Cavs multimedia
  2. ^ The Great Tait to Call His 3,000th Cavaliers Game
  3. ^ Jim Chones to join each Cavaliers home post-game Alltel Call-in Show on WTAM, NBA.com, November 14, 2007.
  4. ^ Cleveland.com homepage Mascot's job is ruff, but Moondog's ready to rock. Accessed April 20, 2007.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cleveland Cavaliers.
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