The Cavaliers have LeBron James, possibly the greatest player in NBA history. But he isn't the only legend in their all-time starting lineup.
The Cavs have not had a lot of success during their franchise history. Still, they have had some memorable moments, most of which came when LeBron James was wearing a Cavs jersey. The other major era of success for the Cavs was during the mid to late 1980s and early 1990s.
In helping mix those two eras together for an all-time, franchise starting lineup we're using Win Shares, an all-in-one measure of career production from Basketball-Reference.
Cavaliers all-time starting lineup: Point guard, Mark Price, 65.4 Win Shares
Mark Price was probably the best player in the history of the Cavs before LeBron James. He ended up making the All-NBA team four times during his career. He has also made the All-Star game four times.
Famous as an excellent assist man and elite shooter, Price led the league in free-throw percentage three times. Across nine seasons with the Cavs, he averaged 16.4 points and 7.2 assists per game, shooting 40.9 percent from beyond the arc and 90.6 percent from the free throw line. He amassed 65.4 Win Shares and is undoubtedly one of the greatest players in franchise history.
Cavaliers all-time starting lineup: Shooting Guard, Kyrie Irving, 40.4 Win Shares
Technically, Irving is 10th on this list but the Cavs do not have a guard after Price so we're slotting Irving here.
Irving had a very low Win-Share total due to his lack of defense, especially earlier in his career. He also missed a lot of games during his time with the Cavaliers. Irving might have been the best player in franchise history if he stayed for the rest of his career. He could have surpassed LeBron James if played 20 years in a Cavs Jersey.
Irving will be a very fun player on the roster. He might end up being better than Mark Price but Price gets the one spot due to the fact that he has way higher win-score than Irving does. The defense will be a bit of a concern on this roster due to the fact that Irving was horrible on that end and Price isn't great either (but serviceable) but the team will be able to make up for it on the offensive end.
Cavaliers all-time starting lineup: Small Forward, LeBron James, 154.1 Win Shares
LeBron James is the best player in Cavs history (and maybe all of NBA history). James has the best highest Win-Shares total in franchise history — 154.1 during his time with the Cavs. He ended up making two stints with the Cavs and he helped deliver the only title in the history of their franchise. He would have ended up as the 26th-best player on the Win Shares list if you only counted the Cleveland years.
As he was in both actual stints, James will be the primary offensive option on this team. With Price and Irving around him, this team will have no shortage of shooting and secondary creation and could be an absolute handful to deal with at both ends of the floor.
Cavaliers all-time starting lineup: Power forward, Brad Daugherty, 65.2 Win Shares
Daugherty ended up playing seven years with the Cavs. He was very solid rebounding big for a team who was able to average nearly 20 points per game for the entirety of his career. Daugherty was one of the best Cavs in the history of the franchise before LeBron James and, with Price, helped lead the group that made the playoffs a couple of seasons during the late 1980s and 1990s.
Daugherty was a five-time All-Star and also made one all-NBA team, piling up 65.2 Win Shares. He was a center but, we have to make room for another all-time center in this lineup so we're leveraging his mobility and sliding him to power forward in this hypothetical.
Cavaliers all-time starting lineup: Center, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, 63.4 Win Shares
Zydrundas IIgauskas is one of the best teammates that LeBron James had in his first stint with Cleveland. IIgauskas' retirement ceremony actually ended up being one of the reasons that James came back to Cleveland for his second go-around. He is still the teammate James has assisted most often over the course of his career.
IIgauskas will provide rebounding for this team. He and Daugherty will be a very dangerous rebounding duo and both players are capable post scorers who can play in the pick-and-roll and hit a mid-range jumper if necessary.
It's true this Cavs lineup might not have the depth of all-time lineups for teams like the Celtics, Warriors or Lakers. But as long as you have LeBron James, anything is possible.
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