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The Slow Rise to Prominence
The Cleveland Cavaliers joined the NBA for the 1970-71 season. A franchise that has known its share of ups and downs, the Cavaliers have scraped the bottom of the barrel at times, both on and off the court. Still, after struggling through much of its first two decades of existence, Cleveland turned itself around in the late 1980s to become a consistent Central Division contender.

The Cavs joined the league as part of an expansion that also included the Portland Trail Blazers and the Buffalo Braves. Expansion forced the NBA to realign into two conferences, with two divisions in each. The Cavs were put in the Central Division along with the Baltimore Bullets, the Atlanta Hawks and the Cincinnati Royals.

1970-71: A Less Than Memorable Debut
The first-year Cavaliers were a motley crew, even by expansion team standards. Coach Bill Fitch, who had been hired away from the University of Minnesota, had his work cut out for him. The cast of characters included Luther Rackley, Johnny Egan, Len Chappell, Larry Mikan (son of NBA great George Mikan), and Gary Suiter. The team's regulars were Walt Wesley, first-round draft pick John Johnson, Bobby "Bingo" Smith, and John Warren. After looking over the team, Fitch was reported to have said, "Just remember, the name is Fitch, not Houdini."

Cleveland entered the league with a thud. The squad played its first seven games on the road because the Cleveland Arena had been booked by the Ice Capades. The team dropped all seven outings by an average of 17.3 points per game. Fitch may not have been amused, but he was amusing. "We're the only team who could play back-to-back games on What's My Line and stump the panel," he told the press. "Mission Impossible didn't even want us on their show."

The Cavaliers finally got to play in Cleveland and lost their home opener on October 30 to the San Diego Rockets, 110-99, before 9,119 spectators. The losses continued to mount, but Fitch's sense of humor didn't flag. "I phoned Dial-a-Prayer, but when they found out who it was, they hung up," he quipped.

The losing streak ran to 15 games before the Cavaliers finally posted their first victory by beating the expansion Trail Blazers, 105-103, in Portland. The Cleveland squad promptly dropped a dozen more before the schedule gave the players a home-game crack at Buffalo, the third expansion team. Cleveland beat the Braves by a single bucket before only 2,002 fans to claim the franchise's first home victory.

The rest of the season continued in a similar vein. The club was 2-34 at one point and stood at 3-36 before engineering a three-game winning streak with victories on December 25, 26, and 27. Cleveland reached its nadir for the season when guard John Warren, in a game against Portland, converted a layup into the opposing team's basket. But Portland wasn't faring much better-Trail Blazers center LeRoy Ellis tried to block Warren's shot.

The final tally for the first season was 15-67. The only thing the Cleveland faithful had to cheer about was rookie John Johnson, who earned a spot in the NBA All-Star Game on his way to a fine first campaign in which he averaged 16.6 points. The team struggled at the box office, as well. A four-game home stand in early January drew a total of 13,214 fans, and on three occasions fewer than 2,000 people showed up to watch the action.

1971-74: Cavs Acquire A Productive Carr But Run Out Of Gas
The Cavaliers got a boost during the offseason by selecting Notre Dame standout Austin Carr as the top pick of the 1971 NBA Draft. Carr came to Cleveland after averaging 34.5 points during his college career. Alfred "Butch" Beard, an expansion draft pickup who had spent the previous season in the Army, rejoined the team for its second season. The Cavaliers also acquired center Rick Roberson from the Los Angeles Lakers.

Through the first 39 games of the 1971-72 campaign, Cleveland looked like playoff material. Even with a record of 15-24, the Cavaliers were only one game behind the first-place Baltimore Bullets. Midway through the season the Cavaliers sent two players-Johnson and Beard-to the All-Star Game.

But the Cavs fell into a big-league swoon in the new year, dropping 11 straight from January 2 to January 26 and winning only 2 of 24 through the middle of February. Once again Cleveland occupied the Central Division cellar, finishing 15 games out with a 23-59 mark. In spite of the dismal record, Carr made the NBA All-Rookie Team after averaging a team-high 21.2 points, while Roberson set a franchise mark of 12.7 rebounds per game that still stands two decades later.

Despite the eight-game improvement between Cleveland's first and second seasons, the team underwent a major retooling prior to the 1972-73 campaign. Fitch sent Beard to the Seattle SuperSonics and got guard Lenny Wilkens and forward Barry Clemens in return. He also plucked second-year player Jim Cleamons from the Lakers for a draft pick and selected Dwight Davis from the University of Houston in the first round of the 1972 NBA Draft.

Wilkens sat out the first seven games of the season, and the Cavaliers stumbled to an 0-7 start. The team then took four of five and began to look competitive. In January, Cleveland went 9-5, and in March the club set a new mark by winning six straight. When all was said and done, the Cavaliers were still the worst team in the Central Division, but they had taken a major step toward respectability by winning 32 games. Wilkens finished second in the NBA with an average of 8.4 assists per game, and he and Carr tied for 17th in the league by each scoring 20.5 points per contest.

Looking to add some toughness, the Cavaliers sent Johnson and Roberson to Portland prior to the 1973-74 season in exchange for the opportunity to draft University of Minnesota forward Jim Brewer. But Brewer had a disappointing rookie year, and the Cavs were left with a pair of 6-9 centers: Brewer and Steve Patterson. The weakness in the middle took its toll as the team fell back below 30 wins (29-53) for the 1973-74 season and maintained its stranglehold on the Central Division cellar. On March 24 the Cavs blew out the defending NBA-champion New York Knicks in their last home game of the season and their final contest at the Cleveland Arena.

1974-75: A New Coliseum, But The Same Old Results
After the 1973-74 season the Cavaliers made some major offseason changes. Lenny Wilkens left the team to serve as player-coach for the Portland Trail Blazers. A swap of first-round draft picks brought veteran guard Dick Snyder to Cleveland from Seattle, and the Cavs solved the problem in the middle by sending a first-round draft choice to the Lakers for the rights to American Basketball Association standout Jim Chones. They also selected the University of Michigan's Michael "Campy" Russell in the first round of the 1974 NBA Draft. The moves paid off in 1974-75-Chones averaged 14.5 points and 9.4 rebounds, and Snyder chipped in 14.2 points per game.

The Cavs were 3-3 in their first six games of the season. On October 29, 1974, the team christened the brand-new Coliseum in Richfield before 13,184 fans but lost to the defending NBA-champion Boston Celtics, 107-92.

The club had climbed to 9-7 when Austin Carr was sidelined with a knee injury that required surgery. The team nevertheless hung tough and was 20-16 when Chones broke his foot, forcing him out for 10 games. Cleveland stood at 33-29 when starting guard Jim Cleamons suffered a separated shoulder. In his absence, the Cavs dropped seven of eight decisions. Suddenly the club found itself in a three-way duel with Houston and New York for the last two playoff berths in the Eastern Conference.

Houston clinched its spot with a handful of games remaining. Then, with two games left, the Knicks came to Cleveland for a head-to-head matchup. Both teams owned 39-41 records, and the Knicks possessed the tie-breaker advantage. An NBA-record 20,239 fans watched as the Cavaliers held on to win by five points. That meant that either a Knicks loss or a Cleveland win over the playoff-bound Kansas City-Omaha Kings on the final day of the season would assure the Cavaliers a trip to the postseason.

The Knicks clobbered Buffalo, and the Cavs trailed the Kings by 14 points with four minutes left to play. A furious comeback pulled Cleveland to within a point with three seconds remaining. But Fred Foster's last-gasp shot was blocked, and the team went home for the season. Cleveland finished at 40-42 and averaged 8,161 fans per home game, a big jump over the 4,013 of the previous year.

1975-78: Bingo! Cavs Make The Playoffs
Fitch did not tinker with his rapidly improving team during the offseason, but when the 1975-76 club got off to a 6-11 start, he sent two players to the Chicago Bulls and acquired 34-year-old future Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond. Shortly after that, Austin Carr returned to action after sitting out the first part of the campaign because of offseason knee surgery.

The Cavaliers stitched together winning streaks of seven, five, and then eight games to vault to 35-22 and take over the top spot in the Central Division. On March 31, 1976, the Cavs downed the New Orleans Jazz to clinch the first playoff spot in franchise history. Ten days later Cleveland clinched the Central Division championship with a win over the Knicks, finishing with a mark of 49-33, one game up on the Washington Bullets.

The solid record was built on defense and balance. The squad finished as the NBA's No. 2 defensive unit and placed a pair of players-Jim Brewer and Jim Cleamons-on the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. Even more impressive, seven Cavaliers averaged in double figures, with Jim Chones leading the way at 15.8 points per game.

Cleveland faced the archrival Washington Bullets in the first round of the 1976 NBA Playoffs. The Cavs won the series, four games to three, but it took a 30-foot miracle shot from Bingo Smith with two seconds left in Game 2, a buzzer-beating putback from Cleamons in Game 5, and a Dick Snyder bank shot with four seconds remaining in Game 7.

The Cavaliers appeared to have a legitimate shot against Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals, but their hopes were dashed when center Chones broke his foot during a practice session before the series got underway. The Celtics took the first two games at Boston Garden, and Cleveland countered by taking the next two at the Coliseum. The Celtics prevailed in Game 5 to go up three games to two. Back in Cleveland, Fitch was presented with the NBA Coach of the Year Award before the start of Game 6, but Boston pulled out a 94-87 win to clinch the Eastern Conference title.

Injuries thwarted the 1976-77 club's efforts to repeat as Central Division champs. Chones was still hobbled by the broken foot when the new season got underway. Campy Russell missed a dozen contests with an ankle injury. At the point guard spot, both Cleamons and Clarence "Foots" Walker missed significant time. And on February 8, Thurmond suffered a knee injury that effectively ended his career.

The Cavs finished at 43-39, but that was only good enough for fourth place in the very competitive Central Division. They faced Washington in a best-of-three first-round playoff series and dropped the first game away from home. Back in Cleveland for Game 2, the Cavs pulled out a 91-83 win, thanks in part to Thurmond, who took the floor for the first time since his knee injury. His final NBA appearance lasted only one minute, but in that minute he inspired both the fans and the team. In the deciding game the Cavaliers fell behind by 17, rallied to tie in the closing minutes, then lost, 104-98.

After five years with the franchise, Cleamons played out his option and signed with the Knicks during the offseason. Fitch took 32-year-old Walt Frazier as compensation. Cleveland was hot at the start of the 1977-78 season, winning 13 of 18 to open the campaign before slumping to 19-21. A 10-6 surge pulled the Cavs back into the playoff race, but their postseason plans were put in jeopardy as the team fell to 34-38 with 10 games left to play. Amazingly, Cleveland took nine of those contests and finished in third place in the Central Division with a 43-39 record. The Cavs advanced to the playoffs but were swept by the Knicks in a best-of-three first-round series.

1978-79: Off On The Wrong "Foot": Cavs Miss Postseason And Fitch Quits
After three straight seasons in the playoffs, the bottom dropped out for the Cavaliers during the 1978-79 campaign. The aging Cleveland team was beset by injuries. Shotblocker Elmore Smith missed the first 56 contests because of knee surgery, Bingo Smith sat out the first 10, and Frazier lasted only a dozen games before sitting out the rest of the year with a foot injury. Foots Walker was hampered by leg injuries that sidelined him for 27 games and slowed him in most of the rest.

Cleveland finished out of the playoffs with a 30-52 record. Campy Russell enjoyed a fine season, however, tying Austin Carr's franchise record with an average of 21.9 points per game, and rookie forward Mike Mitchell had a promising first year, averaging 10.7 points.

An era ended for the Cavaliers in 1979 when Bill Fitch stepped down as head coach at the end of the regular season to take the helm at Boston. Two months later, Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Stan Albeck was hired to fill Fitch's shoes.

1979-81: Anything That Can Go Wrong...
The Cavs' roster also underwent major changes during the offseason and early in the 1979-80 campaign. Cleveland acquired guard Randy Smith, then sent Jim Chones to the Lakers for Dave Robisch. Four days before the season commenced, Elmore Smith had the first of three knee operations that would keep him out of action for the entire year. A week after opening day Walt Frazier was released, ending his remarkable career. Five days later the Cavaliers picked up Kenny Carr from the Lakers. Soon thereafter, Bingo Smith, the franchise's No. 2 all-time scorer, was sent to the San Diego Clippers for a draft pick and future considerations.

Despite the roster renovations, midway through the season Cleveland was within a game of .500 at 19-20. That was as close as the team would get. The Cavs fell to 27-43 before winning 10 of 12 to close the season at 37-45. Second-year player Mike Mitchell averaged 22.2 points to rank 10th in the NBA, and Randy Smith provided a solid 17.6 points per contest. Walker finished third in the league in assists (8.0 apg) and ninth in steals (2.04 per game).

If 1979-80 looked like turmoil to Cavaliers fans, the next three seasons would prove to be chaos for the franchise. During the offseason Nick Mileti, the team's original owner, sold his interest in the club, and the Ted Stepien regime began. During Stepien's three-year reign the club would win an average of 22 games per season, shuffle through six head coaches, and lead the league in personnel changes as 39 different players donned Cleveland uniforms. The franchise would also rank dead last in attendance in two of those three years.

Stepien's first move was to hire Bill Musselman as head coach. The team sent Campy Russell to the Knicks and lost Austin Carr to the Dallas Mavericks in the expansion draft. Through December the team posted a 13-27 mark but then went on a tear in January, winning 9 of 14 games. Mitchell (who averaged 24.5 points for the year) was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star Team. The game was played in Cleveland, and Mitchell delighted the hometown crowd by scoring 14 points in 15 minutes of playing time.

Mitchell's All-Star Game appearance proved to be the season's high point. The club lost 22 of its final 28 games, and with 11 games left to play Musselman was relieved of his coaching duties and replaced by General Manager Don Delaney. Cleveland finished in fifth place, with a 28-54 record. But the worst was yet to come.

1981-83: Four Coaches and 23 Players
The 1981-82 version of the club was a catastrophe. The Cavs tried 23 players and four head coaches. Delaney lasted until December 4, assistant coach Bob Kloppenburg filled in for a game, and then owner Stepien brought in Chuck Daly, who went 9-32 before making way for the return of Musselman. Cleveland managed two winning streaks during the season-three games in a row on one occasion and back-to-back victories on another. Losing streaks were another matter. The club lost four in a row twice, seven straight twice, eight in a row once, and nine in a row once. The team ended the year in a nosedive, losing its final 19 games to finish the season at 15-67.

The Cavaliers continued to turn over players and coaches. Musselman stepped down a week before the 1982-83 season began, and Tom Nissalke was hired in his stead. The biggest player change came in December when Cleveland traded Ron Brewer to the Golden State Warriors for World B. Free. The Cavs, who lost the first five games of the season to run their two-season losing streak to 24, were 3-19 when Free joined the club. He scored at least 20 points in every game in January and helped the club win 5 of 15 games that month. In February the team won four straight and almost broke even for the month at 6-7. Cleveland finished the year at 23-59.

1983-84: New Owners, New Uniforms, Familiar Results
The Stepien era came to a close during the offseason. On May 9, 1983, Gordon and George Gund acquired the club, and the franchise began a slow march back to respectability. The Gund brothers revamped the team, signing Lonnie Shelton from Seattle and adding four rookies to the roster. To symbolize the new start the Cavaliers unveiled a new logo and new team colors, replacing the old wine and gold with orange, white, and blue.

The uniforms may have been different, but early in the year the results looked very much the same. At the end of January 1984 the Cavs owned a 13-30 record. But then the team went on a tear, posting a 9-5 mark in February to close to within three games of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. That was as near as the Cavaliers would come. The squad dropped seven straight, beginning with a loss in Detroit on February 26. The team's next road win didn't come until the final game of the season in Washington. The string of 16 consecutive road losses set a franchise record.

The Cavaliers finished the 1983-84 season with a 28-54 record and won only five games on the road. A fourth-place Central Division showing was the team's best since the 1978-79 campaign. Average home attendance improved to 5,075, a jump of nearly 30 percent over the previous year.

1984-85: Karl Steers Cavs Back Into Playoffs
The Gund brothers continued to put their stamp on the new club. Six weeks after the end of the season they fired Coach Tom Nissalke, and two months later they hired 33-year-old George Karl to take his place.

Offseason roster moves included the acquisition of 6-11, 240-pound rookie center Mel Turpin, picked up in a trade with the Washington Bullets for Cliff Robinson and Tim McCormick.

These changes did not immediately bear fruit. The 1984-85 Cavaliers posted an 0-9 mark before claiming their first victory, then fell to 2-19 before winning back-to-back games in mid-December. From that point on the Cavs were a different team. After a 7-9 January, the club posted back-to-back months of 9-6, and on April 9 they faced the New Jersey Nets with a chance to clinch a playoff berth. Down by seven points with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Cavs proceeded to outscore the Nets, 30-9, to nail down a spot in the postseason for the first time in seven years.

The team finished at 36-46 and was seven games over .500 following the dreadful 2-19 start. Credit for the turnaround went to Coach Karl, forwards Phil Hubbard and Roy Hinson (who each averaged 15.8 points), and Free, who cashed in 22.5 points per game.

Cleveland faced the defending NBA-champion Celtics in the first round of the 1985 NBA Playoffs, and the Cavs found themselves heading back home two games in the hole after losing by three points in Game 1 and two points in Game 2. The Cavaliers took Game 3 behind Free's 32-point effort. Then, despite leading by five points with four minutes left in Game 4, the club finally succumbed to Boston by a score of 117-115.

1985-86: A Fall from Contention
The Cavaliers selected power forward Charles Oakley with the ninth pick in the 1985 NBA Draft. Before the draft was through, however, the club sent Oakley and second-round pick Calvin Duncan to Chicago for Keith Lee (the No. 11 overall pick) and Ennis Whatley. Oakley went on to have a solid career, first for Chicago and later for the Knicks. Whatley played a total of eight games for the Cavs, and Lee lasted for two relatively unproductive seasons in Cleveland. The Cavs also picked up John "Hot Rod" Williams of Tulane in that year's draft. The NBA, however, declared Williams ineligible pending the conclusion of the Tulane sports bribery trial. Willliams was found innocent the week before the 1986 NBA Draft and immediately signed a contract with the Cavaliers.

Despite a five-game losing streak at home to start the new campaign, Cleveland got off to a decent start, largely by posting a winning road record through early January. But the team won only four games that month and five games in February. Following a 2-6 start in March, George Karl was fired and Gene Littles was brought in to try to pilot the club to a second straight playoff appearance. On March 22 the Cavs beat the Bulls in Cleveland, and they held a 21/2-game lead over Chicago in the race for the final postseason slot in the Eastern Conference. But the team lost seven straight down the stretch to fall out of contention at 29-53.

1986-88: Productive Drafts Pave Road To Success
The following summer the Cavaliers began to assemble the pieces that would eventually turn the franchise into a serious contender in the Central Division. Holding the first and eighth picks in the 1986 NBA Draft (the No. 1 pick resulted from a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers), the Cavs took 7-foot center Brad Daugherty and 6-6 guard Ron Harper, respectively. The Cavaliers also acquired the draft rights to guard Mark Price. In addition, Cleveland appointed former Cincinnati Royals standout Wayne Embry as vice president and general manager. Later that summer Lenny Wilkens was hired as the Cavs' head coach.

Because of all this reshuffling, Cleveland fielded a promising young team in 1986-87. The club's inexperience showed in its 31-51 record, but Harper, Daugherty, and first-year forward Hot Rod Williams all sparkled. Harper led the team in scoring (22.9 ppg), games played (82), minutes (3,064), steals (209), and assists (394). And the trio of youngsters were Cleveland's top three scorers, marking the first time since the 1955-56 season that a team was led by a trifecta of rookies. At season's end, Harper, Daugherty, and Williams were all selected to the NBA All-Rookie Team.

After the season the Cavs added first-round draft pick Kevin Johnson but stood pat otherwise. The club started 1987-88 without Williams, who missed the first five games because of a sore left foot. Playing against Atlanta in only the second game of the season, Harper suffered a severely sprained left ankle and missed almost two months of action. Despite the injuries, the Cavaliers managed to hover around the .500 mark throughout the first half of the season, thanks in part to Daugherty, who played well enough to earn a trip to the NBA All-Star Game. He was Cleveland's first representative in the contest since Mike Mitchell in 1981.

On February 21 the Cavs stood at 28-25. Three days later Cleveland engineered a blockbuster trade that sent Johnson, Tyrone Corbin, and Mark West to Phoenix for Larry Nance and Mike Sanders. The Suns also received a first-round draft choice and two second-round picks from the Cavs.

Cleveland struggled after the trade, losing 12 of its next 15 games. But the new pieces began to fit as March came to a close, and the team took 11 of 13 to end the season and clinch a playoff spot. The Cavaliers finished the year at 42-40. They were the second-best defensive team in the league, ranked second in three-point percentage (.378), and were third in blocked shots (526).

Cleveland faced Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in a first-round playoff matchup. The Bulls took the first two games as Jordan became the first player in NBA playoff history to score 50 points or more in back-to-back contests. Cleveland answered by winning the next two, despite performances of 38 and 44 points from Jordan. The Cavs jumped out to a 35-23 first-quarter lead in Game 5 before Jordan took over, scoring 21 of his 39 points in the second half and leading Chicago to victory. He averaged 45.2 points for the series to set an NBA playoff record for a five-game series. It wasn't the only time that Jordan almost single-handedly bumped the Cavs from the postseason.

1988-89: Don't Ask Cleveland How To Stop Michael Jordan
With Williams, Harper, Daugherty, and Price playing in their third season together, and with Wilkens in his third season as head coach, everything fell into place for the 1988-89 team. Opening day saw Cleveland rout the expansion Charlotte Hornets by 40 points, the second-largest margin of victory in franchise history. An 8-3 start in November was the team's best beginning in 11 years.

On December 15 the Cavs embarked on a franchise-record 11-game winning streak. As usual, the success was built on defense. Emblematic was a 104-96 win in January over the Knicks in which the Cavs tied an NBA record by blocking 21 shots. Two weeks later Cleveland showed that the team could light up the scoreboard as well, pounding the Warriors, 142-109.

From December 16 to March 13 Cleveland boasted the No. 1 record in the league. The club nailed down win No. 50-a franchise first-with a victory against Dallas on March 28. Although the Cavs finished six games behind the Detroit Pistons in the Central Division, Cleveland owned a 57-25 record and tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the second-best showing in the league.

The Cavs faced the Bulls in the opening round of the playoffs for the second straight year. The teams split the first two games played in Cleveland. Then the scene shifted to Chicago, where they split another pair of games. The Cavaliers forced Game 5 with a 108-105 victory in Game 4, but on May 7 Michael Jordan nailed a 16-foot jump shot at the buzzer as the Bulls eliminated the Cavs, 101-100. The image of Jordan hitting the clutch turnaround shot over Craig Ehlo lives on as one of the great moments in playoff history.

1989-91: Injury Bug Stings Cavs For Two Straight Seasons
The 1989-90 season was a disappointment, but injuries were a large part of the reason. The team started the year without Brad Daugherty (who missed the first half of the season) and Larry Nance. Mark Price also sat out 8 of the club's first 15 games. In a surprise move made only two weeks into the season, the Cavaliers sent Ron Harper and three future draft choices to the Los Angeles Clippers for Reggie Williams and the rights to Danny Ferry.

Down the stretch, the Cavaliers dueled with the Atlanta Hawks for the final playoff spot in the East. The Cavs squeaked into the postseason by winning 17 of 23 to end the year at 42-40. For the third year in a row the club went five games in the first round before bowing out, this time to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Much of the team's success during the 1989-90 campaign came from behind the three-point line. The Cavs set a new franchise record by sinking 8 three-pointers on November 15, then poured in 9 on December 11. On January 6, Steve Kerr went 5-for-5 from three-point distance in the fourth quarter of a game against the Orlando Magic. Nine days later the team hit 10 treys. For the season, the Cavs set an NBA record for team three-point percentage (.407) and led the league in three-pointers made (346) and attempted (851). Kerr led the league in individual three-point field goal percentage with a .507 mark.

The Cavaliers may have been hampered by injuries in 1989-90, but the team was demolished by the bug in 1990-91. The squad's injured players missed a combined total of 241 games because of various physical ailments and disabilities, and only Craig Ehlo appeared in all 82 contests. Cleveland started well enough and was 6-3 after nine games, tied for the Central Division lead with the defending NBA-champion Detroit Pistons. Then, on November 16, Hot Rod Williams sustained a sprained foot that knocked him out for 37 games. Two weeks later Price tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and was lost for the season.

Daugherty and Nance did their best to keep the Cavs competitive. Daugherty became the first Cavaliers player to average more than 20 points and 10 rebounds in a season, and Nance chipped in 19.2 points per game. But Cleveland finished out of the playoffs with a 33-49 record.

1991-92: All-Stars Daugherty And Price Lead Cavs To 57 Wins
After battling bad luck for two seasons, the team survived 1991-92 relatively unscathed. The only significant loss was Ehlo, who missed 19 games late in the year with a sprained left knee. But with the rest of the lineup basically healthy, Cleveland returned to the form it had displayed during the 1988-89 season and went 57-25.

Cleveland showed the league just how dominating a team it could be on December 17, when the Cavs demolished the Miami Heat, 148-80, setting an NBA record for margin of victory. The Cavs lost to New Jersey the next day, then won 11 straight to tie a franchise mark. At the All-Star break the team was 31-14. Daugherty and Price represented the Cavaliers in the midseason classic.

The 1991-92 Cleveland squad's 57 regular-season wins were a 25-game improvement over the previous season. Along the way Daugherty became the franchise's all-time leading rebounder, Lenny Wilkens won game No. 800, and Nance surpassed Elvin Hayes as the most prolific shotblocking forward in NBA history. Price led the NBA with a .947 free throw percentage, which at the time was the second-best mark in league history.

Cleveland faced New Jersey in the playoffs and dispatched the Nets in four games to advance past the first round for the first time since 1976. The Cavs moved on to confront the Atlantic Division champion Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, and Cleveland took the series in seven games, routing Boston by 18 points in the deciding Game 7.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Cavaliers went up against the Chicago Bulls. The teams took turns pounding each other through the first five meetings and headed into Game 6 with the Bulls leading the series, three games to two. Chicago then eliminated Cleveland with a 99-94 victory.

1992-93: Jordan Sends Cavaliers Home-Again
The Cavs signed Knicks free agent Gerald Wilkins in the offseason but fielded basically the same club going into the 1992-93 campaign. The team started off slowly, posting a 6-7 record in November. Six of those losses came after Daugherty was sidelined with tendinitis and bursitis in his left knee. In a game in mid-December, Cleveland and Washington played to a 90-90 tie, then went crazy in overtime. The Cavs beat the Bullets, 111-107, outscoring Washington, 21-17, in the extra period. The 38 points scored by the two teams missed the NBA record for an overtime period by a single point.

Cleveland reached the end of January with a 25-18 record, then fashioned the best month in team history by winning 12 of 13 games in February. With a February 12 victory against the Milwaukee Bucks, Lenny Wilkens moved past Bill Fitch into fourth place on the NBA all-time coaching victory list with 846 career wins. Cleveland sent three players-Daugherty, Nance, and Price-to the 1993 NBA All-Star Game.

After a 6-6 March the Cavaliers put together a solid April, going 11-3 to finish at 54-28, three games behind the Bulls. The sharp-shooting Cavs staked a claim as one of the most accurate clubs in NBA history, leading the league in field goal percentage (.497), free throw percentage (.802), and three-point percentage (.381).

For the second year in a row the Cavs faced the Nets in the first round of the playoffs. They advanced once again but needed all five games to subdue New Jersey. Cleveland moved on to face Chicago for the fourth time in six years, and once again Michael Jordan and the Bulls were a playoff curse for the Cavaliers. This time it was a sweep. In Game 4, Jordan dropped an 18-footer at the buzzer to seal a 103-101 victory for Chicago.

One week after the Cavs' final playoff game, Wilkens resigned as head coach, ending his seven-year tenure at the team's helm. On June 17, 1993, Cleveland announced that Mike Fratello had signed on to become the 11th coach in Cavaliers history.

1993-94: Phenomenal Price Can't Save Cavs
Mike Fratello's arrival did not result in immediate improvements for the Cavaliers. In 1993-94 the team fell seven wins short of its total from the previous year and went out meekly in the playoffs.

Injuries were the main culprit. Brad Daugherty missed 32 games due to a back injury, and Larry Nance was on the sidelines for more than half the campaign with a knee injury. The team started poorly and then rallied with 11 straight wins from February 18 to March 8.

However, without Daugherty and Nance, the team played .500 ball through the end of the regular season. In the playoffs an injured John Williams joined his ailing frontcourtmates on the bench, and the Cavs started Tyrone Hill at center and Rod Higgins and Bobby Phills at the forward positions. It was a short postseason-the Chicago Bulls swept Cleveland in three games.

Mark Price was again one of the league's better point guards. He led the Cavs in scoring (17.3 ppg) and ranked ninth in the league in assists (7.8 apg), 12th in three-point shooting (.397), and fifth in free throw percentage (.888). A member of the All-NBA Third Team, he won the NBA Long Distance Shootout at the All-Star Weekend for the second consecutive season and was a member of Dream Team II at the 1994 World Championship of Basketball. Return to top of page

1994-95: Cavs' Defense Saves Injury-Plagued Season
Injuries hit the 1994-95 Cleveland Cavaliers hard, but the team adopted an unusually slowed-down style of play and somehow squeezed out a winning season. The club lost two of its most potent weapons, Brad Daugherty and Gerald Wilkins, for the entire campaign because of injuries. Mark Price and Terrell Brandon also missed significant time, but Coach Mike Fratello made the most of what he had to work with, using a slow, deliberate, defense-oriented approach that was dull but effective enough for a 43-39 record. Cleveland led the Central Division for much of the season's first half.

Defense was the story for the Cavs this season, as the club allowed opponents an average of 89.8 points per game, the second-best mark in NBA history. (The Syracuse Nationals were the last NBA team to give up fewer points per game when they held opposing teams to 89.7 points per contest in 1954-55, the first season in which the 24-second clock was used.) On offense, Cleveland finished last among the NBA's 27 teams with an average of 90.5 points per outing. No Cleveland player finished in the league's top 40 scorers.

The Cavs tied the longest winning streak in team history when they won 11 in a row from December 9 to December 30, the third-longest winning string in the NBA in 1994-95. Tyrone Hill played a big role in Cleveland's success, averaging 13.8 points and 10.9 rebounds and earning selection to the All-Star Game for the first time in his career. Guard Bobby Phills and forward Chris Mills developed into legitimate NBA starters, and the closer three-point line adopted in 1994-95 allowed Danny Ferry to become an offensive threat off the bench.

Despite these bright spots, the Cavaliers suffered from a manpower shortage all season. They finished nine games out of first place and were beaten in the playoffs by the New York Knicks, three games to one. In that series 10 all-time records for low performances were either set or tied. Return to top of page

1995-96: Fratello Slows Pace to Stay in Race
The 1995-96 Cavaliers, under the guidance of Coach Mike Fratello, never were in danger of overloading the scoreboard, but were a success story nonetheless. Despite an offense that ranked next to last in the league, (91.1 ppg) the Cavs excelled by allowing the fewest points in NBA history (88.5 ppg).

But while critics of the Cavaliers slow-paced style called it boring, basketball purists saw a team that played hard, played together, recognized the little things that win games and didn't let egos get in the way of success. Fratello's overachievers finished 47-35, the fourth best record in the Eastern Conference.

While the Knicks used superior talent to sweep the Cavs in the first round of the playoffs, the Cavs established a solid foundation from which to build. Terrell Brandon developed from a bench player into an All-Star and a big-time contributor. Danny Ferry received consideration for the league's Most Improved Player award and set a team record with eight straight three-pointers against Charlotte on February 13. Other players, including Chris Mills, Bobby Phills, Dan Majerle, Tyrone Hill, Michael Cage and Bob Sura understood their roles and played them well.

1996-97: Last Day Dooms Playoff Hopes
The Cavaliers' quest to reach the playoffs in 1996-97 was hard-fought. Under Mike Fratello, the team continued to employ a style of ball that maximized the team's talent - the result was a 42-40 record, but a loss to the Washington Bullets on the final day of the season allowed Washington to leapfrog past Cleveland for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Though the season ended with a dark cloud, there were several silver linings to dull the bitter taste of failing to reach the playoffs. With a 73-70 win over Chicago, Cleveland handed the Bulls one of only 13 losses on the season. They also dealt the Los Angeles Lakers a 103-84 drubbing at the Forum.

Individually, Terrell Brandon was dubbed by Sports Illustrated as the best point guard in the NBA. Brandon earned his second straight All-Star berth, and the opportunity to play among the league's best in front of the home crowd at Gund Arena. Second-year guard Bobby Sura emerged as an effective playmaker and a potent defensive force. Tyrone Hill, one of the league's most underrated players, was among the league leaders in rebounding and field goal percentage.

With their deliberate style of play, the Cavs allowed an NBA record-low 85.6 points per game. They gave up just 57 points to the Orlando Magic on December 4, tying an NBA record for fewest points allowed. However, it wasn't quite enough to propel the team into postseason play, snapping a five-year streak in which the team had qualified to the playoffs.

1997-98: Revamped Cavs Return to Postseason
In response to being shut out of the playoffs in 1996-97, President Wayne Embry and the Cavs spent a busy offseason revamping their entire starting lineup. Gone were Terrell Brandon, Chris Mills, Tyrone Hill and Bobby Phills. In their place were veterans Shawn Kemp and Wesley Person, as well as a quartet of rookies who made quite an impact in their first NBA season. The result -- a surprising 47-35 record, and a return to the postseason.

"I like the people we have and I like what they're about," said Cleveland Coach Mike Fratello of his new-look team. There were many reasons to like Kemp, a five-time All-Star with Seattle who was acquired in a three-way deal that sent Hill and Brandon to Milwaukee on September 25. The 28-year-old power forward quickly adapted to his new team and averaged 18.0 ppg and 9.3 rpg,, becoming the first player in franchise history to be named a starter in the NBA All-Star Game. Person, who came to Cleveland as part of a three-way deal with Denver and Phoenix, ranked second on the team in scoring at 14.7 ppg.

Kemp was among friends at All-Star Weekend. An unprecedented four Cavalier rookies, Cedric Henderson, Brevin Knight, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Derek Anderson, were selected to play in the Rookie Game. When guard Bob Sura missed 33 games with a left ankle injury early in the season, it was Knight who stepped in and stepped up, averaging 8.2 apg (8th in the NBA) and 9.0 ppg. He also led the league in total steals (196), ranking second in the NBA with 2.45 spg. Ilguaskas led the Cavaliers with 1.65 blocks per game to go with 13.9 points and 8.8 rebounds. Anderson (11.7 ppg) and Henderson (10.1 ppg) shored up the small forward position.

As a team, the Cavaliers recorded the most steals in franchise history this season with 814; their 9.93 spg average ranked second in the league. Cleveland also forced 17.6 turnovers per game (third in the NBA), shot .372 from three-point range (fourth) and held its opponents to 89.8 ppg (fourth). The team finished in the sixth playoff position, and lost a first-round series with the Indiana Pacers in four games.

1998-99: Agony of Da Feet
The lockout-shortened season looked bright for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had a roster of promising young players to complement perennial All-Star Shawn Kemp. And then starting center Zydrunas Ilgauskas broke his left foot.

Ilgauskas, MVP of the 1998 Schick Rookie Challenge, averaged 15.2 points and 8.8 rebounds in the first five games before suffering the season-ending injury. Cleveland finished the season 22-28 and missed the playoffs for only the second time in eight years.

Kemp had another stellar season, scoring a career-high 20.5 points per game and averaging 9.2 rebounds. Brevin Knight was seventh in the NBA in assists (7.7 apg).

Cleveland made one trade during the season, acquiring Andrew DeClerq and a first-round pick from Boston for center Vitaly Potapenko. DeClerq played 33 games for the Cavs, including 32 starts, and averaged 9.0 points and 5.8 rebounds.