The Cleveland Cavaliers history has been full of ups and downs. The franchise had some golden years that went all to waste until the arrival of LeBron James back in 2003 changed everything for them.
Even so, LeBron’s first departure to join the Miami Heat pushed the Cavs towards yet another rebuilding process that didn’t pay off the way they would’ve wanted, but his homecoming was enough to bring the franchise back from the ground in no time.
This coming and going has made the Cavaliers a team that could be competing for the Championship one year, and then trying to get the 1st overall pick the very next season. And that’s exactly their case looking ahead to the summer.
See, the Cleveland Cavaliers are currently tied at 14% odds of getting the 1st overall pick of the NBA Draft, which would give them their 4th overall pick of the decade and 5th of the past 20 years. This would be a historic feature. Why? Let me walk you through it:
NBA Finals
The Cleveland Cavaliers made it to the NBA Finals 4 times in a row, all of them, against the Golden State Warriors. They managed to pull off a heroic comeback against the almighty team that won 73 games in the regular season despite being down 3-1 in the series.
That mythical Championship was the first the city had won in 52 years. LeBron broke the spell, the city of Cleveland was cursed no more. A couple of seasons later, they’re back at the bottom of the standings.
2011 NBA Draft
Following LeBron’s departure, the Cavaliers were able to get the 1st overall pick thanks to a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers. They used that miraculous pick to draft Kyrie Irving out of Duke University.
Irving would quickly become the team’s leader, showing glimpses of greatness throughout the first seasons of his career. He would be a pivotal player for the team’s success as LeBron’s sidekick, before eventually deciding he wanted to leave town and join the Boston Celtics.
2013 NBA Draft
The Cleveland Cavaliers were once entitled of the 1st overall pick, but, considering the lack of depth and talent that class featured, they were interested in shopping it around. Sadly, there were no takers.
They used that pick to Draft Anthony Bennett out of UNLV, one of the worst scouting decisions ever. Bennett was a major bust and was never able to prove why on earth he was a lottery pick in the first place, and they passed on Victor Oladipo, Giannis Antetokounmpo, CJ McCollum, and Rudy Gobert to get him.
2014 NBA Draft
Somehow, the Cavaliers were once again in control of the 1st overall pick the very next season. Eventually, they used it to Draft Andrew Wiggins, but they strongly considered using it to get Jabari Parker instead.
Needless to say, neither of those players was nearly half as good as expected, but, at least, they used Wiggins and Bennett to get Kevin Love as soon as LeBron James announced he was coming back home.
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2019 NBA Draft
And, finally, they could become the first team to ever make it to 4 NBA Finals and have 4 1st overall picks if they’re lucky enough to get it this summer and use it to draft Zion Williamson out of Duke.
They’re currently tied with the Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks for the highest odds of getting the 1st overall pick, and considering the huge difference between the 1st 2 choices and the rest of the class, they better be praying the lottery God help them out once again.
