The Cleveland Cavaliers are entering the 2025-26 season with no shortage of self-belief.
According to Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, there’s a sense within the organization that the team has the pieces, chemistry, and experience needed to make a legitimate run at a championship.
“Rightfully so, there’s a lot of confidence from Kenny [Atkinson], and there’s a lot of confidence from people inside this organization that the Cavs are ready to compete for a championship,” Fedor said. “And they do believe that they learned what they needed to learn. We’ll see — it has to play itself out. But they do believe they learned what they needed to learn from the latest playoff exit.”
The Cavaliers fell on tough times after the departure of LeBron James in 2018. It took years to return to contention in the East, but things finally started trending their way with the addition of Donovan Mitchell in 2022. In just a few years, Mitchell transformed the Cavs into a top contender in the East, and last season was arguably their best stretch since their latest Finals run.
With Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen, the Cavaliers managed to finish first in the standings at 64-18. They had a +9.5 average point differential (second-best in the NBA) and went into the playoffs as one of the favorites to win the East. Unfortunately, after a round one sweep over the Miami Heat, the Cavaliers lost to the Indiana Pacers in the Conference Semis, winning just one out of five games.
Going into next season, the Cavs are facing overwhelming pressure to achieve real playoff success. Fortunately, they are set to run it back with a few new additions: Lonzo Ball and Larry Nance Jr. Besides gaining valuable experience in the playoffs, they were able to confront their flaws and identify key areas of struggle: shooting, physicality, and late-game execution in the clutch.
The biggest thing for the Cavaliers next season is that most of their competitors will be off the board. In Boston, the Celtics are expected to experience a down year, with Jayson Tatum set to miss most of the regular season. There’s also the Pacers, who lost their starting center (Myles Turner) weeks after watching their star point guard suffer a torn right Achilles tendon.
The only real competition in the East is the New York Knicks, who may experience some growing pains after replacing head coach Tim Thibodeau with Mike Brown. If the Cavs can just stay healthy and use what they learned in last year’s series, they’ll have the advantage in this matchup and should have an open path to the Finals.
As it stands, the Cavaliers have never been in a better position to reclaim the East. With a healthy roster, valuable playoff lessons, and a weakened field of contenders, the odds have never been more in their favor. If they fall short again, however, the pressure to make a seismic move will be unavoidable — and a reunion with LeBron James could be the boldest way to keep their championship window wide open.
If nothing else, Cleveland’s self-assurance sets the tone for a season that could define this era of Cavaliers basketball. They’ve invested heavily in their core, trusted in their continuity, and cleared a path through a conference suddenly short on proven contenders. Now comes the real test, proving that confidence isn’t just talk, but the first step toward a parade in downtown Cleveland.
