The 10 greatest big men in Cleveland Cavaliers history

Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images /
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Cleveland Cavaliers
Larry Nance, Cleveland Cavaliers. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

No. 2 Cleveland Cavaliers big man: Larry Nance

Larry Nance came to the Cavs in the middle of the 1987 season. He had been a staple with the Phoenix Suns, but the Cleveland team back then was starting to get going. After they had a terrific 1986 NBA Draft where they picked up players like Mark Price and Brad Daugherty, gaining the veteran presence of Nance was a game changer and made the Cavs legitimate title contenders for several seasons. The only and most annoying issue for Nance and his teammates back then was that they had Michael Jordan standing in their way to gaining championships.

Nance immediately made a huge impact for the Cavs when he was traded. That season he averaged 16 points and had an eight-rebound average. He also averaged over two blocks a game. He finished his seven seasons in Cleveland with a 17 point and eight rebounds average, and he also maintained a pretty healthy career even though he played until he was 34 years old.

His 1988 season was one of his best where he scored in double figures in 66 games and had 67 games where he had more than five rebounds. He also registered 39 games of three blocks or more. In all, Nance helped the Cavaliers reach the playoffs in five seasons and they made the Eastern Conference Semifinals twice and the Eastern Finals once.

Though they couldn’t escape Michael Jordan and his dominance during that time frame, those Cavs teams were some of the best in NBA history, thanks to players like Nance.