A little over a year ago, Lamar Stevens, started barking and the Cleveland Cavaliers have not looked back since from that point. The last few seasons, Koby Altman rebuilt the Cavs organization from the ground up, following LeBron James’ second departure. Last year was their statement that the Wine and Gold are back in business.
Everything about the new version of this team is different than before. When the King was in town, they always wore a target on their back. Now that they are a young, likable team full of nice guys, they have to manufacture their own motivation to come into every night and be the best version of themselves.
So they went with dogs.
They bark. They call themselves underdogs. They give out a giant golden junkyard dog chain after every win to the player who brings the most scrap and heart. The Dawg Pound always used to be a Cleveland Browns thing, but Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse might as well steal the nickname.
The Junkyard Dog OG 🐶💧#LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/YAxKGzy3q4
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) March 9, 2022
The way the Cavs have evolved from one of the most lowly, tense locker rooms to one of the best and most joyful in the league is nothing short of impressive. Lamar Stevens deserves a large portion of credit for the role he played in the transition. However, as charismatic and inspiring as Lamar is, he does more than bark and wave towels around on the bench.
He’s also a young talented basketball player, who was on the edge of breaking out last season. In the midst of his strong close to the season, Stevens averaged 13.7 points and 4.3 rebounds while slashing 60.4%/57.1%/77.8% and playing disruptive defense over a 6-game sequence in late March.
Going undrafted in 2020 after a 4-year career at Penn State, the 6’6″ swingman carved out a role within the Cavaliers as a gutsy, athletic wing with strong defensive tools and intriguing shotmaking ability. As Cleveland has upgraded in talent and invested more into other players on the roster, the former Nittany Lion has found himself on the outside looking in.
But it is no place he has not been in before. Lamar Stevens loves being the underdog. He will find a way to claim his place in the NBA. Just ask his trainer, Henry Woo Jr.