Cleveland Cavaliers not being in the ‘FanSided 250’ is just wrong

FanSided released it’s “FanSided 250,” where they rank a ton of different kinds of fandoms, from across the world of entertainment involving celebrities to artists to individual athletes in sports, and of course, the fandom of sports teams. The Cleveland Cavaliers did not make the list this go-round, though, and that’s just wrong.

I understand that the current iteration of the Cleveland Cavaliers is not close to what they were a few years ago. During the years of LeBron James‘ “Return Tour,” the Cavaliers made four straight runs to the NBA Finals.

In 2016, LeBron and then Kyrie Irving were the key cogs on the Cavs’ 2016 NBA championship squad. The Cavaliers are now amid a full-rebuild again, though, and unfortunately James is not around anymore, given his unrestricted free agency signing with the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 2018.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have really struggled since beginning the 2019-20 season at 4-5, and are now just 5-18.

Under new head coach John Beilein, though, I believe the Cavs can eventually turn things around in the near future with hopefully the proper development of plenty of meaningful draft picks.

The young backcourt of Darius Garland and Collin Sexton has had their share of problems on both ends this season, and that duo will have plenty of growing pains ahead, as fans and the organization know.

Nonetheless, the Cavaliers not even being in the “FanSided 250,” FanSided’s ranking of the 250 best fandoms across the world of entertainment involving celebrities, artists, and of course, sports and/or individual athletes, is just wrong.

FanSided 250

Fansided250 Logo

Where does your fandom rank?

See 2019 Rankings

Now in this year’s rankings, FanSided factored in “buzz” more so than ranking the “best” fan bases.

That’s likely their rationale for not having the Cavaliers included in their rankings, but it’s still hard for me to fathom how the Cavs aren’t in that 250.

Fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers are still fiercely loyal, and one can see that through and through, and we’re seeing more flashes from the likes of Darius Garland and fellow rookie Kevin Porter Jr. in recent weeks, too, which is getting the people going.

Even with the Cavs a ways away from being a postseason contender in the Eastern Conference, and even though the Kevin Love trade rumors are again in full swing with him reportedly preferring the Portland Trail Blazers as a destination if he is traded at some point, the Cavs belong in the FanSided 250.

More from King James Gospel

• 3 possible starting lineups for Cleveland Cavaliers in 2023-24
• The Cavaliers may have snagged a hidden gem in Craig Porter Jr.
• 4 players the Cavaliers should pursue in 2024 free agency
• 6 players Cavaliers might replace Jarrett Allen with by the trade deadline
• This stat is one to keep an eye on for Cavaliers’ Max Strus in years ahead

Just factor in how much Cavs fans still go crazy for the likes of Matthew Dellavedova.

Delly, though he’s doing pretty well in other areas, is mightily struggling to score this year when he’s on the floor, which has been rough to see.

He has just 2.5 points per game and an effective field goal shooting clip of just 30.8%, which is by far the lowest on the Cavaliers, according to NBA.com, but even with that being the case, he is still beloved by so many Cavaliers fans.

Cavs fans appreciate role players just as much as the key cogs, no matter the circumstances.

Anyway, last year, the Cleveland Cavaliers ranked 194 overall and number 12 among pro basketball teams, which includes the WNBA, too, as it should, for reference. To me, that ranking last year was just right.

The Cavaliers ranking 14th in average attendance in 2019-20, according to ESPN, is far from awful, given the team being at the beginning stages of a full-rebuild.

In addition, according to Kevin Kleps of Crains Cleveland, as of December 5, though the Cavs’ average rating of TV viewing is down 16.3% from last season, their rating average for the NBA in 2019-20 “remains in the top 10.”

Kleps hit on how ratings for the NBA are down generally, but either way, Cavaliers fans are as loyal as it gets in the Association, and you can’t discount that.

Swinging back to buzz, there’s more each game Garland hits his stepback three-pointers and Porter does things like this, which is becoming more and more prevalent.

Now should the Cavs have a FanSided 250 ranking along the lines of the Cleveland Browns, coming in at number 30 overall?

No, that’d be way too much of a stretch, even with the Browns having a pretty disappointing 6-7 record currently with all their talent.

Anyhow, fans of the Wine and Gold are being slept on in a huge way.

The Cleveland Cavaliers not being in the FanSided 250 is just wrong, folks!