Making an NBA All-Star team has never been an easy feat to accomplish, and the Cleveland Cavaliers have celebrated numerous phenomenal talents during the weekend festivities.
Most recently, Donovan Mitchell earned his second All-Star appearance as a Cavalier in as many seasons, making him the ninth player in franchise history to be named to at least two consecutive All-Star rosters. Mitchell's name has quickly joined the history books as an all-time Cleveland great as both a basketball player and overall athlete. Behind Spida, the Cavs have snagged the second-best record in the Eastern Conference and are looking ahead toward the playoffs.
While Mitchell's efforts deserve greater recognition by the end of the year than just a selection to the All-Star Reserve roster, many other historic great Cavaliers never even added an All-Star game to their resume. The history of Cleveland All-Stars is a unique list with confusingly absent names and other names that are equally confusingly included.
Bygone eras of Cavaliers basketball have never produced a Hall of Fame inductee, either, outside of players who had joined the Cavs seasons outside of their primes. Shaquille O'Neale and Dwyane Wade both dawned wine and gold at one point, but their legacies were not connected to Cleveland. In many ways, being looked over was just the status quo for the Cavaliers until the emergence of LeBron James.
A retrospective look makes these five Cavs greats seem like no-brainers for at least one All-Star appearance; however, the All-Star title somehow eluded them from their draft night to their retirement speech.