3 Cavaliers that first come to mind from 1994-2003 logo era

#1: Shawn Kemp

Last but not least, the player I most associate with that mid-90s to early 2000’s Cavs logo is bruising big man Shawn Kemp.

Kemp, who wanted to be dealt by Seattle before the 1997-98 season by the then-Seattle SuperSonics, was a key piece in a big-time NBA three-team trade also involving the Milwaukee Bucks, too. The most notable players involved in the other parts of the deal were then-Milwaukee’s Vin Baker going to Seattle and from the Cavs’ perspective, Terrell Brandon was sent to the Bucks.

Was Kemp nearly the same two-way monster he was on the Sonics when he was playing big minutes after his rookie season with them on the Cavs? Admittedly, no, but Kemp was still really good in his three-year stint with Cleveland from 1997-98 through the 1999-00 season.

Kemp would often carry Cleveland as still as an interior force by willing his way to the rim and in turn, he averaged 7.7 free throw attempts per game as a Cavalier, and hit 76.2 percent of those attempts.

All in all, before Kemp declined after his Cleveland days, which would ultimately end via trade to the Portland Trail Blazers, the physical interior force would still have 18.5 points per game with the Cavs, and made his final All-Star appearance in ’97-98. He had 9.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 blocks per game in his three years with the Cavs, too, and led the Cavaliers to the postseason in 1998, too.

That following lockout-shortened season, as Busting Brackets writer Jerran Anderson, who was highlighting Kemp in a top 15 Cavs forwards ever list piece here at KJG, hit on, even coming into training camp out of shape, still had his career-high with 20.5 points per outing during that campaign. Anderson would also mention how Kemp did not close out that season, though, due to him “dealing with a foot injury.”

Even though Kemp was again not nearly the two-way player he was in his Sonics days here in Cleveland, he’s still a player that many loved watching.

Moreover, when looking back at that 1994-03 Cavs era and/or that orange ball in the hoop and/or “CAVS” logo with the black and blue mostly featured, Kemp is that first dude that comes to mind to me.