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.
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 (to date) their only 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: New team, playoff expectations
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 players (minus Harper, who was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers 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 rebuild
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 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 a local 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. 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 (owner of Quicken Loans, not the psychologist), 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 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 won the series in four games.
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 Tim 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.
Basketball Hall of Famers
* Wayne Embry (Former team president and first African American to serve in that role in the NBA; inducted as a contributor.)
* Nate Thurmond
* Lenny Wilkens (Inducted as both player and coach.)
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
LeBron James team is the East Conference Cleveland Cavaliers. Find more about the Cavs below. 