Cleveland Cavaliers

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1 Franchise Name History
2 Franchise History
3 Franchise Arenas
4 Franchise Personnel
5 Retired Numbers
6 External Links

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Franchise Name History

LeBron James

When Cleveland received a National Basketball Association franchise prior to the 1970 season, the team owner and founder, Nick Mileti, turned the decision on the team nickname over to the fans. There were thousands of choices submitted to the local newspapers, which were narrowed down to 5 possible names for the Cleveland team. Then Nick chose the name of Cleveland Cavaliers. This was selected as the new team name, and has been the name since.

Following the contest, the logo of a 17th century Englishman sporting a long saber was created for use by the team.

During the late 80s and throughout the 90s, the Cavaliers were also nicknamed the "Cavs" for short.

By the end of the 2002-2003 season, the owner, Gordon Gund, decided to re-use the name "Cavaliers".

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Franchise History

The Cleveland Cavaliers joined the NBA as an expansion franchise for the 1970-71 season. While the team started off extremely slow, they found success at their peak in 1975-1976, when they won the Central Division Title in what was called the "Miracle of Richfield", in which the Cavaliers won several playoff games with buzzer-beating shots. Eventually, the team fell to the bottom of the league when Ted Stepien bought the team in 1980. It took at least half a decade before the team would rise again. Brad Daugherty, Mark Price, and Larry Nance helped the Cavs to considerable success in the late 1980s and early 1990s but the team found it impossible to reach the championship thanks, in part, to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. When Cleveland's fortune changed by drafting superstar forward LeBron James, the team went on an upward stroll to the tops of the NBA, eventually reaching the 2007 NBA Finals, but then being swept by the San Antonio Spurs. Read More...

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