Cleveland Cavaliers: Top 10 NBA Draft picks in franchise history
By Frank Urbina
5. Zydrunas Ilgauskas (C) — No. 20 pick in 1996 NBA Draft
Career stats (with the Cavaliers): 771 GP, 13.8 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.5 STL, 1.6 BLK, 1.9 TOV, 47.5 FG%, 31.3 3P%, 78.0 FT%
The second-best center in franchise history, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, places No. 5 on our countdown.
“Big Z” enjoyed a successful 13-season career, 12 of which came as a member of the Cavaliers. In that span, he was named to the All-Rookie First Team in 1998, as well as the All-Star Team in 2003 and 2005.
Although his numbers were never all that crazy, he did have a pretty solid peak between 2003-06, in which he averaged 16.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks a night. His longevity with Cleveland allowed him to rise to the top of various statistical categories with the franchise. To this day, Ilgauskas is No. 2 in points scored (10,616), No. 1 in blocks (1,269) and No. 1 in total rebounds (5,904) in Cavs history.
Furthermore, the Lithuanian big man may have been miscast playing in the mid-2000, iso-ball-centric NBA. His ability to space the floor from the midrange as a 7-footer was truly ahead of its time. Had Ilgauskas played in today’s league, odds are he would have taken his jumpers from a few feet further back and spaced the floor from three.
Don’t get it twisted, though: Feathery shooting touch aside, the guy could dominate on the low block, too.
Simply put, Big Z was awesome, and a heck of a lotta fun to root for, even for non-Cavs fans.