The Mount Rushmore of the Cleveland Cavaliers
- Brad Daugherty
- Kyrie Irving
- LeBron James
- Mark Price
Just as Michael Jordan was the obvious choice for the Chicago Bulls, LeBron James receives that accolade with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He’s the only Cavalier player to win MVP or Finals MVP, and he led the franchise to the only championship in the history of its existence.
James is not only the greatest player in Cavaliers history, but he’s directly synonymous with the mere mention of the organization.
Next on the list is the player who helped James win that title: Kyrie Irving. Irving became Rookie of the Year, a two-time All-Star, and an All-Star Game MVP before James returned to Cleveland, and cemented his place in franchise history with a shot that deserves the overused title of, “Iconic.”
Irving played six seasons in Cleveland and helped the Cavaliers make the NBA Finals in three of them, delivering a title with all-time great performances in 2016.
Perhaps the most underrated player to make the Mount Rushmore is Brad Daugherty. Cavaliers fans fondly remember the big man, who scored upwards of 10,000 points in just 548 games—and also averaged 20 and 10 in each of his last three healthy seasons.
Daugherty’s crowning season arrived in 1991-92, when he led Cleveland to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.
The fourth selection is the player who starred alongside Daugherty and revolutionized the pick and roll: Mark Price. Price is one of the purest shooters of all-time, as well as the innovator of splitting defenders on high screens.
Price also helped Cleveland push Jordan and the Bulls to six games in the 1992 Eastern Conference Finals—a feat unto itself.
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