Why LeBron James and Co. Are the Greatest Cavaliers Team of All Time
When you start talking about NBA history, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ franchise comes somewhere near the bottom of the list in terms of legacy.
The first two franchises that pop in your head would (or should) be the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. There have been periods in the NBA where it seemed as if those were the only two franchises that existed.
There were some teams that have had a short period of championship success. You might think of the Bill Walton led Trailblazers, or the Rockets and Clyde the Glide and the Dream.
Golden State, Seattle, and the Washington Bullets even won championships in the ‘70s.
The Cavs franchise history ranges everywhere from “laughing stock” to “almost a champion” and everything in between.
But recently The Cleveland Plain Dealer did a story comparing several past Cavalier teams to the current “LeBron Era”.
It made for good “barbershop talk,” but let me stop everyone in their tracks right now—this is the greatest Cavalier team ever.
With all apologies to World B. Free (who essentially saved the franchise from being moved out of Cleveland after 1985), there have been only two other periods in Cavs' history that can rival the current squad.
The 1975-76 Miracle of Richfield team came within Jim Chones’ broken foot of winning the Eastern Conference Finals.
Chones, the teams leading scorer, was injured in practice before the series started. Despite a valiant effort, the Cavs lost in six games to the eventual NBA Champion Boston Celtics.
That year, they were led by Chones, Austin Carr, Bingo Smith, and acquired Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond for the stretch run. Injuries, age and a series of poor player decisions by infamous owner Ted Stepian eventually led to the dismantling of the team.
There are many in Cleveland who believe the Cavaliers would have won a minimum of three championships from 1989 to 1993 were in not for The Man, Michael Jordan.
Jordan simply tortured the Cavs and their fans during that period. Most notable to Cleveland fans was his amazing turnaround 16-footer over Craig Ehlo as time expired to win the series.
Those teams featured NBA All-Stars Brad Daugherty, Mark Price, and Larry Nance. Ultimately, Michael Jordan’s Bulls would knock the Cavs out of the playoffs four times from 1989 to 1994.
The aforementioned teams, like the current roster, were all filled with talent and depth. However, they all lacked the one thing that the current Cavs roster does not—a superstar.
LeBron James is simply the greatest player in the game. He is to other NBA teams right now, what Jordon was to other teams of his era.
I know, I know...those of you on the west coast are going crazy right now screaming that Kobe is the greatest. But he is not.
Kobe is a killer. He’s a great scorer. He can bring it on the defensive end when he wants to.
But right now, LeBron is just taking over in each and every aspect of the game. And the sick part is that he is only 24 and seems to get better every time he steps on the floor.
You need 50 tonight? LeBron will give you 50.
Is somebody else on the floor in a zone? Okay, how about 12 assists this game?
Getting crushed on the boards? LeBron to the rescue.
Need somebody to stop the point guard (or the two, three, or four)? King James reporting for duty.
How about "all of the above"? Done.
He has Magic Johnson's court awareness and Michael Jordan's grace, skill, and determination, all within in Karl Malone's body.
I hear a lot of whining from uninformed fans across the league (especially Laker fans) that LeBron is only out there “padding his stats.” But those people do not watch him on a nightly basis.
The only “stat” the King is concerned with padding are in the win column. He can, and will, do whatever it takes to win a game on that particular day.
James has already carried a far less talented team to the NBA Finals. This team is better, deeper, and finally has some consistent outside shooting to spread the floor for him.
As far as All-Time Cavaliers teams go, this team just set a franchise record for road wins and there is still over a month to play!
Did I mention they are 28-1 at home?
End of discussion.
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