Top Five Cavs Seasons Of The Gund/Q Era
By Luke Sicari
Oct 7, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) works under the basket against the Atlanta Hawks during the first half at Cintas Center. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports
To commemorate twenty seasons of Cleveland Cavaliers basketball at Quicken Loans arena, King James Gospel is looking at the best in various categories during that span. Today we look at the top five seasons for the Cleveland Cavaliers during The Gund/Q Arena era. Last year finished up the Cavs 20th season in their hallowed arena.
#5: 2002/03 Cleveland Cavaliers
Now, before everyone attacks me asking, how could a 17 win team be the fifth greatest team in Cavalier history over the past 20 seasons, allow me to say something:
Heard of him? Well, if it wasn’t for this epically bad team, there is a very strong chance that the Cavs would have never been honored with the privilege of James putting on a Cleveland Cavalier jersey, which is why this team is one of the most important, not best but important, Cavalier teams in the past 20 years.
As you’d expect, many infamous names in Cavalier lure appear on this roster. From Carlos Boozer to Ricky Davis to Darius Miles to DeSagana Diop, this team was filled with names that Cleveland fans long to forget.
One shining bright from that season was Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who represented the Cavaliers in the All-Star Game that season. One of the most beloved figures in Cavs history, Ilgauskas would average 17.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game that season, while starting in every game he played, which was 81.
Apart from the play from Ilgauskas though, there aren’t many shining lights on the court for Cleveland. They went through two head coaches in John Lucas (8-34) and Keith Smart (9-31), neither of which was kept for the next season. They were 25th in the league for points per game with 91.4 and were 28th in the league for opponent’s points per game, with 101.0. The offensive (96.5) and defensive (106.7) ratings weren’t anything to write back home about either. The team was last in attendance that year and suffered a 27-point loss on opening night.
So while the on-court version of the 02/03 Cavs was miserable, that was the team responsible for Cleveland winning the 2003 draft lottery and ultimately drafting James, hence their appearance on this list.
Next: 4th Best Season