Cavs: How many Cavaliers players will make NBA’s Top 75 Team?

Cavs: How many Cavaliers players will make NBA’s Top 75 Team? – Have a chance

It’s not clear exactly how the NBA will make its selections for the Top 75 team, but it will likely be conservative (popular names) and democratic (players somewhat evenly chosen across eras). There are a handful of players who all have some chance to make it, and at least deserve to be in the conversation.

The player with the best chance is Nate Thurmond, a Hall of Fame center from the 1960s and ’70s who made the NBA’s “50 at 50” list. He played in Cleveland at the tail end of a career that included seven All-Star selections.

Derrick Rose didn’t meet our 50 games mark, but he’s worth mentioning as an interesting test case for the league: does his MVP award give him an automatic pass onto the list? If not, his career won’t necessitate inclusion.

If the league looks to certain statistical markers then Antawn Jamison has a chance as a player with 20,000 points over the course of his career. Kevin Johnson was an underrated guard in the 1980s and ’90s but doesn’t have an standout qualities in his game. Shawn Kemp may have played his way into the discussion with a healthier career and a title. Larry Nance will rank higher in many advanced metrics than players who make the list, but he doesn’t really have anything defining to hang a case on otherwise.

Finally, two interesting cases. Ben Wallace was one of the best defensive players in modern NBA history, He was a four-time Defensive Player of the Year, made five All-NBA teams and won a title in 2004. He also averaged just 5.7 points per game for his career. How do the NBA’s voters balance that sort of unique resume?

Kyrie Irving likewise has a chance to make the list. and he joins LeBron James and Nance as the only two whose time in Cleveland will contribute to their candidacies. He has been on three All-NBA teams, is a seven-time All-Star, and won the title in 2016. It is his shot in Game 7 of those Finals over Stephen Curry that could help propel him there as one of the indelible moments in NBA Finals history. If the league / the voters look to trace some of those moments through history as part of telling the “story” of the NBA, Kyrie could get the bump he needs to make it onto the list.

If we had to set the over/under on former Cleveland Cavaliers making the list, the line would land at 4.5 players. LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal and Walt Frazier are locks, while Nate Thurmond has a better than 50 percent chance. Derrick Rose, Kyrie Irving and Ben Wallace all have a shot as well. It will be exciting to see the list as it is rolled out and enjoy a trip down memory lane.