Donovan Mitchell earned his second All-Star selection in two years with the Cleveland Cavaliers, adding to the list of players who have graced All-Star Weekend for the Land.
The first Cavalier ever to reach All-Star weekend was John Johnson in his rookie 1970-71 season. Johnson ended his career with two total selections with his second and final coming in his sophomore campaign. LeBron James has the most All-Star seasons with 10 as a Cavalier, followed by Brad Daugherty's five and Mark Price's four.
In the modern Association, All-Star rosters have created more controversies due to stars who were left out of the mix rather than those who sneaked into the lineup. With 450 standard roster spots available every year and only 24 All-Stars, it is harder to accomplish this feat than it ever has been. Past generations of the NBA faced an opposite problem, often witnessing role players receiving the final few spots.
Historically, All-Star rosters have always been an illustrious accolade in the NBA, but that has not stopped some talented but undeserving players from seeing their names in the All-Star history books. The Cavaliers have had 20 players in the franchise's history in the festivities, but a few stand out for the wrong reason in retrospect. Whether they were a decent player on a good team or a complete anomaly, these two retired Cavaliers join the list of forgettable All-Stars.
Cavalier All-Star No. 1 - Mo Williams, 2008-09
In the LeBron James' first run with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he singlehandedly propelled the organization to sudden success near instantly. James' rookie season is the only one in which he did not reach the playoffs with the Cavs. In the 2008-09 season, the Cavaliers were one of the Eastern Conference's best contenders, and that winning was rewarded with two All-Stars.
This year marked LeBron's fifth consecutive All-Star selection and Mo Williams' first - and final - selection. Williams was amid his best season throughout a 13-year career, averaging 17.8 points and 4.1 assists as the team's second-best player. In the 2000s, these statistics were more impressive than they might be in today's era; yet, his All-Star addition was likely nothing more than the LeBron James Effect and the team's dominance in the East.
While other 2009 All-Stars were far from generational talents by the end of their careers, Williams was undeniably the least deserving name on the East team's roster. With James and Dwyane Wade headlining the team, the East roster included numerous future Hall of Famers. For the Western Conference, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan were joined by Chris Paul, Amar'e Stoudamire and Yao Ming in the starting lineup. Other all-time greats such as Dirk Nowitzki and Shaquille O'Neal joined the reserves.
On the initial roster, Williams was absent, but he was chosen as an injury replacement for the then-Toronto Raptor Chris Bosh. This does lessen the extent to which Williams was undeserving, but it is a moment in Cavaliers history that still raises an eyebrow in disbelief when reviewing his career profile.
Although hindsight would suggest Williams' inclusion was a surprise, it is an accomplishment nonetheless to reward his best season. The Cavaliers went on to be the best team in the conference entering the playoffs and swept the first two rounds. Reaching the conference finals, they were bested by Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic in a six-game series in what would prove to be the second-to-last postseason run for LeBron and the Cavs before his era with the Miami Heat.
Cavalier All-Star No. 2 - Butch Beard, 1971-72
While the success of the 2008-09 Cavaliers helped lift Mo Williams into All-Star success, Butch Beard's All-Star selection in his lone full season with Cleveland is a more confusing case. After a rookie season with the Atlanta Hawks, Beard served for the U.S. Army before joining the Cavaliers for his second year.
The Cavs ended the season with the second-worst record in the conference at 23-59. The young guard was showing signs of true talent and was one of the Cavs' best players, but he was far from one of the Association's elite stars. At this point in NBA history, every organization had at least one representative in the All-Star game, but the bottom-feeding Cavs were somehow awarded two with Butch Beard joining alongside the team's first-ever draft pick John Johnson.
His selection came in the infant years of the NBA, but the league was quickly expanding and had massive talent already present. For reference, Ohio still had two NBA teams - the Cavaliers and Cincinnati Kings. The entire Association was still under construction, meaning numerous subpar candidates earned All-Star appearances at this time.
Beard was far from the upper end of the NBA, averaging 15.4 points in 12.5 attempts per night. His inefficient 46.4 field-goal percentage was a telling sign that he was not a true star. The 24-year-old was a bad player on a bad team who happened to play a lot of minutes. The next year, his numbers dropped drastically to only 6.6 points per game with the Seattle Seahawks in a diminished role. Beard never joined anohter All-Star roster.
Following his departure from Cleveland, Beard spent his single year with the Seahawks before joining the Golden State Warriors for one-and-a-half seasons before being traded back to the Cavs. Finally, he spent his last four seasons with the New York Knicks.
The Cavaliers have celebrated historic talents and plenty of All-Stars, but a few have slipped through the cracks. As a small market team, it is fairly uncommon that players get undeserved accolades, often needing to prove themselves time and time again before they are considered among the stars of the coastal squads. These two Cavs, both for their own reasons, are uniquely engraved in Cleveland basketball history.
Whether they truly deserved their All-Star selection or not, the Cleveland Cavaliers are surely not going to reject the notion of having another elite player on their team.