Anderson Varejao should be a Cavs Wall of Honor member when eligible
Former Cleveland Cavaliers big man Anderson Varejao was a fan favorite for many years in Cleveland, and the voters should include Varejao on the Wall of Honor when he’s eligible.
The Cleveland Cavaliers recently released a cool, new franchise tradition, the Wall of Honor. Per that press release, the criteria for being named to the Cavaliers Wall of Honor is:
"“Must have been a part of the Cavaliers organization for at least two seasonsMust be retired from playing or working for the Cavaliers organization for at least five seasonsThey must also exhibit two or more of the following traits as hallmarks of their tenure with the organization:Strong personal character that elevated the organization and inspired those around themSignificant community commitment focused on improving the quality of life in and around the City of ClevelandStandout individual game performance and a competitive impact that improved both the team and their teammatesBe reflective of the “All For One. One For All.” commitment throughout the organization”"
Once he is five years removed from the Cavaliers, Anderson Varejao will have checked all of these boxes and should be a shoe-in for the next Wall of Honor class after that timeframe.
First of all, Varejao played in a Cavaliers jersey for 12 seasons. In his 12 years in Cleveland, he had per-game averages of 7.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, and sported a solid defensive rating of 102 (per Basketball Reference).
You can see, through the love the fans had (and still have) for Varejao, that he inspired those around him.
Via Cleveland.com’s Tim Bielik, Varejao also still calls Cleveland home.
Although a lot of his moments don’t show up in the box score, which ultimately is what has made him such a beloved figure in Cleveland, he did have a couple of moments, like this game-winning three against the Atlanta Hawks.
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Varejao’s best game came in the first post-LeBron James‘ era when he and a young Kyrie Irving were the faces of the Cavaliers’ franchise.
In a loss to the Brooklyn Nets, Varejao posted perhaps his best performance as a Cavalier with a 35-point, 18 rebound game.
Varejao was off to an All-Star season in the 2012-2013 season until an injury cut his season short at 25 games.
Through 25 games he had per-game averages of 14.1 points per game, and an NBA leading (at the time of his injury) 14.4 rebounds per game (per Basketball Reference).
Perhaps no player in Cavaliers history exemplifies the “All for one. One for all” commitment throughout the organization than Varejao.
Outside of the first year or two of the first post-James era, Vaerjao probably averaged more floor burns than points because of the all-out effort he played with. And he didn’t care.
The fans loved Varejao because of the effort he displayed. That was on display when the Cavaliers’ front office decided to have a “wig-night” and hand out Varejao wigs.
When he pulled up to the gate, the security guards even had them on.
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He sacrificed everything from a personal accomplishment standpoint in order to try to win games, because he was, if nothing else, a true Cleveland Cavalier team player. He was “All for one. One for all.”