
2. Zydrunas Ilgauskas
There are’t too many teams that can say they stole their franchise’s second all-time scorer and rebounder as late as 20th in the NBA Draft. That’s where Cleveland plucked the 7’3″ Zydrunas Ilgauskas in 1996.
“Big Z” was incredibly steady for the Cavaliers, playing 12 seasons for Cleveland. He was a double-figure scorer in 11 of them. He finished with 10,616 points and 5,904 rebounds as a Cav, both trailing only LeBron.
Speaking of LeBron, Ilgauskas was probably the first NBA “sidekick” to James. He was a top-three scorer for Cleveland in six of LeBron’s first seven years in the league, with the pair often finishing one-two on the team.
In 2009 LeBron James lead this Cleveland Cavaliers team to 66 wins
— Donald Trump Advisor (@TrumpAdvisor24) May 22, 2019
This starting lineup includes
Anderson Varejao
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Delonte West
Mo Williams pic.twitter.com/II5k6HQNEX
Many fans might not think of Ilgauskas as an all-time great Cavalier. He probably gets lumped in with Mo Willilams and Larry Hughes as opposed to the likes of James, Kyrie Irving or anyone from those talented early 1990s teams.
But Ilgauskas was a key cog on a roster that made at least the Eastern Conference semifinals for five straight seasons.
There was never a lack of love for Ilgauskas, but maybe there is a slight lack of respect for his talent. Either way, he was a major steal with the 20th overall pick.