Top 10 Cleveland Cavs

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In doing a Top 10 list of the greatest Cleveland Cavs, there's not a lot of suspense as to who is number one. Still we'll talk about LeBron and reminisce about some other outstanding players who have represented the Cavs. There are actually quite a few of them, to the point some pretty good players didn't make the list.

10: Kevin Love Kevin's stats have taken a beating since he came over from the Minnesota Timberwolves, but he was part of the only championship in the last 50 years. Thus far, Kevin has averaged 17.2 ppg to go with 10.2 rebounds in Cleveland. Love's shooting percentage is only 43% but he does have the ability to stretch the floor because of his three point shooting. Kevin is an excellent free throw shooter, hitting about 84% from the line. Kevin has had trouble adapting his game to LeBron James', but he still gets the 10^th slot.

9: Andre Miller Andre is definitely a journeyman in the truest sense of the word, but he's been a very good point guard, ugly shot and all. Miller spent his first three seasons in Cleveland. After making the all rookie team in the 1999-2000 season, he began to really run the Cavs offense. In the 2000-01 season he averaged 8 assists per game before recording a NBA leading 10.9 assists the following season. Miller scored enough to keep defenses honest, averaging 14.5 ppg on 45.2% shooting from the floor. Miller also was good from the foul line, hitting 81.2% of his free throws. I've got to admit, those gaudy assist numbers nailed down this slot for him. Miller was a sneaky good player.

8: Jim Chones Jim Chones helped the Cavs transition from a bad team to a respectable team. Jim was a strong interior defensive presence and a force on the boards. He was also a decent scorer. Jim averaged 14.3 ppg and 9.5 rebounds in his five years in Cleveland. Chones performed at about the same level in the playoffs has he did in the regular season.

7: Zydrunas Ilguaskas Big Z had a long run with the Cavs, playing for them 12 seasons. Longevity counts for something. He was a solid performer, averaging 13.8 ppg and 7.8 rebounds. There's a quirk in Z's rebounding totals. He averaged 3 offensive rebounds a game. He was in the top 10 in that category 7 times. Being 7'3” helped in be among the league leaders in blocks twice. The two time all star ranks high in the Cavs career stats in games played, rebounds and blocks.

6: Ron Harper Many NBA fans remember Ron from his days on some of those championship Bulls teams, but he was even better when he was with the Cavs. In three plus seasons with the Cavs, Ron averaged 19.4 ppg, 5.1 assists and 4.7 rebounds. He was a really athletic guy before knee injuries slowed him down. He was also a strong defensive player. In his heyday with the Cavs, Ron was good for about 22 ppg. Ron wasn't a great pure shooter, but still hit 49.1% from the field.

5: Kyrie Irving Kyrie Irving, aka, the man who would be king, is an amazing person with the ball. The problem with being amazing with the ball when you're on the Cavs is LeBron James is even more amazing with the ball. In six seasons with the Cavs, Kyrie scored 21.6 ppg to go with 5.5 assists and 3.7 rebounds. He was even better in the playoffs, going for 23.9 ppg. Irving can attack the basket effectively and also is good from behind the arc. In addition, he's an excellent free throw shooter.

4: Larry Nance Larry was an athletic shot blocker, great dunker and generally very good interior player. Nance spent 7 seasons with the Cavs and was in the top 10 in shot blocking 5 of those seasons. Nance averaged 16.8 ppg to go with 8.2 rebounds. Nance was an efficient scorer, shooting 53% from the field and 80.4% from the line. Nance's playoff performance mirrored his regular season play. Larry Nance comes in at number four.

3: Brad Daugherty Brad was the best post player in Cavs history. Daugherty average 19 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists in his 8 seasons with the Cavs. He was an efficient scorer, shooting 53.3% from the field and 74.7 from the line. He was also outstanding in playoff action, producing similar numbers. Brad's career was cut short by back problems. If that hadn't been the case he would be much more talked about.

2: Mark Price Mark was an immensely talented guy, despite being only 6' tall. He was one of the best point guards in the game, being an excellent ball distributor besides being one of the great shooters in the game. Price averaged 16.4 ppg and 7.2 assists. Mark shot 47.9% from the field, including 40.9% from beyond the three point line. He was also one of the best free throw shooters in NBA history shooting 90.4% of his free throws. He led the NBA in free throw shooting three times. Mark was a four time all star and actually reminds me of Steve Nash.

1: LeBron James Well, this anti-climatic. LeBron is easily the best player in Cavs history. For that matter he's one of the best players in NBA history. Some would argue he's THE best player in NBA history. James was instrumental in bringing Cleveland it's first world championship in over 50 years. That's probably the most impressive thing on his world class athletic resume. The raw stats are impressive. His scoring average for his time in Cleveland is 27.2 to go with 7.2 assists. He also helps on the boards with 7.2 rebounds. LeBron is also a spectacular defender capable of coming up with the big steal or highlight film block. As good as he is in the regular season, he takes it up a notch in the playoffs. His numbers go to 29.4 ppg, 9.1 rebounds and 7.6 assists. LeBron James, not only the best player on the Cavs, probably the best athlete in Cleveland sports history.

So there are my top 10 Cleveland Cavaliers, some good players such as Campy Russell, World B. Free, Austin Carr, John “Hot Rod” Williams and Terrell Brandon, got close, but didn't make it. How does this list compare with yours? Let me know.

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