- LeBron James is the only MVP and Finals MVP in Cleveland Cavaliers history
- LeBron James is the Cavaliers’ all-time leader in games played, points, rebounds, assists, steals, and triple-doubles
- Since 1971 when they were founded, the Cavaliers have made 23 playoff appearances and won one NBA championship
Since 1971, the Cleveland Cavaliers have competed as an NBA franchise. Over these 54 seasons, the team has managed to accumulate a 1,984-2,287 (46.5%) record while making a total of 23 playoff appearances with one NBA championship in 2016. Many NBA greatest and franchise cornerstones have called Cleveland home and made the success and sustainability of this great franchise possible. These are the players that make up their franchise GOAT pyramid.
If you are familiar with our GOAT pyramid series, then you are also familiar with the conditions of each player being named to this list. These players are selected based on their careers with the franchise and what they accomplished in other locations has no bearing on their ranking. Based on stats, accolades, accomplishments, and their impact on team success, they are then placed into the appropriate tiers. If you are unfamiliar with our franchise GOAT pyramid rankings, here are the teams we have covered since beginning our series:
– The Los Angeles Lakers All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Chicago Bulls All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Golden State Warriors All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Boston Celtics All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Detroit Pistons All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Miami Heat All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Houston Rockets All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Brooklyn Nets All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The New York Knicks All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Milwaukee Bucks All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Denver Nuggets All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Philadelphia 76ers All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Dallas Mavericks All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The San Antonio Spurs All-Time GOAT Pyramid
Now that the conditions of our rankings are out of the way, it is time to take a look at the Cleveland Cavaliers’ all-time GOAT Pyramid.
Tier 5
Walt Frazier, Lenny Wilkens, Craig Ehlo, Campy Russell, Tristan Thompson, Mo Williams, Shaquille O’Neal, Donovan Mitchell
We kick off our list with Tier 5 which will consist of players who barely found their way onto our list. As a two-time NBA champion with the New York Knicks, Walt Frazier carved out one of the greatest careers for a point guard in history. After his time was up in New York, Frazier would also spend three seasons in Cleveland from 1978-1980. During this time, Frazier averaged 14.6 points, 3.8 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. Even though his All-NBA and All-Star days were over, Frazier is still one of the better guards in Cavaliers’ history.
Lenny Wilkens is another point guard in Cavaliers history who made a name for himself elsewhere before landing in Cleveland. Wilkens would play for the Cavaliers for just two seasons in 1973 and 1974. Wilkens would be an All-Star in his first season with Cleveland averaging 20.5 points and 8.4 assists per game on 44.9% shooting. He would follow that up with 16.4 points, 7.1 assists, and 1.3 steals per game in 1974.
Craig Ehlo was a shooting guard with the Cavaliers from 1987 through 1993. Although infamous for being the defender that Michael Jordan hit “The Shot” over, Ehlo is a big part of Cavaliers history. Over the course of seven seasons, Ehlo averaged 9.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game with the team and played a big role on their playoff teams during the 1990s.
In 1974, the Cleveland Cavaliers made Campy Russell their eighth overall selection in the NBA Draft. Russell would spend the first six seasons of his career with the team from 1975 through 1980 where he averaged 16.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game. In 1979, Russell earned the only All-Star selection of his career with Cleveland averaging 21.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. They would go to the playoffs three times with him on the team including an Eastern Conference Finals berth in 1976.
Tristian Thompson is the first member of the Cavaliers’ lone championship team in 2016 to make an appearance on this GOAT pyramid. Thompson spent nine seasons with the Cavaliers from 2012 through 2020 and averaged 9.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. As a big-bodied rebounder and stout defender, Thompson became a staple in the City of Cleveland. He would make a total of four NBA Finals in his Cavaliers career and averaged 10.3 points and 10.1 rebounds in the 2016 Finals to help win the NBA championship.
Mo Williams is one of the forgotten players in Cavaliers history despite the team’s success during his tenure. Williams was a member of the team from 1009 through 2011 and again in 2016 for half a season. In his four seasons with Cleveland, Williams averaged 14.8 points per game on 40.2% shooting from three. In 2009, Williams would earn his first All-Star selection averaging 17.8 points per game on 43.6% shooting from deep, and helped the Cavaliers reach the Eastern Conference Finals.
The last two players to make up Tier 5 of this GOAT pyramid reached their status with Cleveland at the tail end of their careers. Shaquille O’Neal was in his 18th season when he made 53 appearances for the Cavaliers during the 2009-10 season. In those 53 games, Shaq averaged 12.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game. He would also start all 11 playoff games in Cleveland that year and averaged 11.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game on 51.6% shooting.
The final member of Tier 5 is Donovan Mitchell who has spent just one season in Cleveland, heading into his second in 2023-24. In his first season with the team in 2022-23, Mitchell averaged a career-high 28.3 points per game on 48.4% shooting while earning All-Star and All-NBA Team honors. Mitchell’s incredible season also included a season-high 71-point game and 31 30-point games.
Tier 4
Ron Harper, Nate Thurmond, Hot Rod Williams, Shawn Kemp, J.R Smith, Kyle Korver, Darius Garland, Anderson Varejao
As we enter Tier 4 of our list, we begin to see players who have played a much larger role in the history of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Ron Harper was the eighth overall pick of the Cavaliers in 1986 and would go on to have three and a half tremendous seasons with the team. Harper would average 22.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 2.5 steals as a rookie in 1987. Although he would go on to win five NBA titles elsewhere, he was the best two-way version of himself in Cleveland albeit for a short period of time.
Nate Thurmond’s production was nowhere near what it was in 11 seasons as a member of the Warriors by the time he got to Cleveland but his impact was undeniable. Thurmond spent the final two seasons of his career in Cleveland in 1976 and 1977 with his biggest impact coming in the team’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1976. In those playoffs, Thurmond averaged 6.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game, anchoring Cleveland’s defense to a near-championship run.
Hot Rod Williams is one of the longest-tenured Cavaliers on this list and one of the most well-paid as well. Williams played nine seasons with Cleveland from 1987 through 1995 where he averaged 12.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game. Williams made over $3 million per season with the Cavaliers from 1991 through 1995 and was routinely among the NBA’s highest-paid players.
Shawn Kemp would have a short-lived career in Cleveland from 1998 through 200 once his days with the Seattle SuperSonics were over. Kemp would be an All-Star in 1998 with the team, averaging 18.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game. He helped the Cavaliers reach the playoffs that season as well and averaged 26.0 points and 10.3 rebounds per game in their loss to the Pacers.
J.R. Smith is another member of the 2016 NBA championship team to make an appearance on our list. Smith played a total of five seasons with the Cavaliers from 2015 through 2019. He made four Finals appearances in total with the team while averaging 10.3 points on 38.1% shooting from three over those five years. In the epic 2016 NBA Finals comeback, Smith helped Cleveland Become NBA champions with 10.6 points per game on 40.0% shooting from the field.
Kyle Korver is one of the greatest three-point shooters in NBA history. Korver brought his talents to Cleveland for two and a half seasons from 2017-2018 while consistently playing 70 games off the bench. In those two seasons, the Cavaliers made two NBA Finals appearances with Korver contributing 9.3 points per game on 45.4% shooting from three overall and 40.4% shooting in the playoffs.
Darius Garland has been the starting point guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers in each of the last four seasons. During that time, Garland has averaged 18.5 points and 6.7 assists on 44.9% shooting overall and 38.7% from three. He has helped the Cavaliers reach the playoffs in each of the last two seasons while being named an All-Star in 2021 and averaging 21.6 points and 7.8 assists per game on 41.0% shooting from three in 2022-23.
The final member of Tier 4 was a Cavaliers staple for 13 seasons from 2005 through 2016. Anderson Varejao was not a stat-stuffer by any means but was exactly the type of player that fans and teammates fall in love with thanks to his effort and physical style of play. In 13 seasons, Varejao averaged 7.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game while earning an All-Defensive Team selection in 2010.
Tier 3
Kevin Love, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Austin Carr, World B. Free
Every member of Tier 3 of the Cavaliers’ GOAT Pyramid has a case to be ranked even higher as an all-time great of the franchise. Kevin Love is one of the great forwards in team history after coming over in 2015. He spent nine seasons with the team into 2022-23, earning two All-Star selections and winning one NBA title in 2016. In his career with the Cavaliers, Love averaged 15.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per game on 42.9% shooting and 37.6% shooting from three.
“Big Z” Zydrunas Ilgauskas is one of the greatest big men in the history of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Ilgauskas spent 12 seasons with the Cavaliers from 1998 through 2010. He earned two All-Star selections in 2003 and 2005 while helping them make one NBA Finals appearance in 2007. Over the course of 12 seasons, Ilgauskas averaged 13.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game on 47.5% shooting.
Aptly named “Mr. Cavalier”, it is only right that Austin Carr sits high atop the Cavaliers’ GOAT pyramid. Carr played nine seasons with the team from 1972 through 1980 averaging 16.2 points per game on 45.1% shooting. In 1974, Carr earned the only All-Star selection of his career with 21.9 points per game on 44.5% shooting from the field. He helped the Cavaliers make the playoffs three times and the Eastern Conference Finals once.
The final member of Tier 3 is the high-scoring and electric guard, World B. Free. In four seasons with the team from 1983 through 1986, Free averaged 23.0 points and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 45.4% from the field. Free’s play led the Cavaliers to the playoffs in 1985 and he still ranks in the top 15 in points scored in franchise history.
Tier 2
Kyrie Irving, Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, Larry Nance
The players in Tier 2 are among the elite of the elite in Cleveland Cavaliers’ history. Kyrie Irving made a name for himself with the Cavaliers from 2012 through 2017 as one of the best guards in the NBA. Irving was named Rookie of the Year with the Cavs in 2012, as well as a four-time All-Star and All-Star MVP in 2014. Irving was one of the driving forces next to LeBron James in their comeback to win the 2016 NBA championship with 27.1 points and 2.1 steals per game, including the dagger three to seal Game 7 and the title itself. Although it ended quite poorly, Kyrie Irving is still seen as a hero in Cleveland.
Before Kyrie Irving came along, the consensus greatest point guard in team history was Mark Price. With a smooth shooting stroke and an extremely high basketball IQ, Price etched his name into Cavaliers history from 1987 through 1995. Price would make four All-Star Teams and four All-NBA Teams with the Cavaliers averaging 16.4 points, 7.2 assists, and 1.3 steals per game on 47.9% shooting overall and 40.9% shooting from three.
Before injuries came and snatched away his career, Brad Daugherty was on his way to becoming an all-time great big man with Cleveland. From 1987 through 1994, Daugherty averaged 19.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game while making five All-Star Teams and an All-NBA Team in 1992. He would be forced to retire due to injury in 1994 at just 30 years old.
Larry Nance’s career in the NBA was perfectly split into two parts. After seven seasons with the Phoenix Suns, Nance joined the Cavaliers for the remainder of his career from 1988 through 1994. During that time with Cleveland, Nance would make two All-Star Teams, three All-Defensive Teams, and averaged 16.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game on 53.0% shooting. Nance would help the Cavaliers make five playoff appearances including the 1992 Eastern Conference Finals when he averaged 18.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per game.
Tier 1
LeBron James
There is absolutely no question as to who is the greatest player in Cleveland Cavaliers history. LeBron James is the Cavaliers’ all-time leader in games played, points, rebounds, assists, steals, and triple-doubles. If that isn’t enough for you, James is also a former Rookie of the Year, and two-time MVP in a Cavaliers uniform as well.
James’ greatest accomplishment would come in 2016 though when he led the Cavaliers to their first championship in team history. After falling down 3-1 to the Warriors, James led a comeback of epic proportions and the Cavaliers to three straight wins averaging 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 8.9 assists per game. He had finally secured a title for his hometown team and officially entered the conversation for the greatest player to ever step on an NBA court.
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