Cleveland Cavaliers Milestones

Order these Cleveland Cavaliers franchise moments by the year they happened. You place all 27 cards on one timeline, one at a time. Three wrong guesses ends the run.

Cleveland Cavaliers Milestones
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Order these Cleveland Cavaliers franchise moments by the year they happened. Drag or tap it onto the line
Cleveland Cavaliers
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Cleveland Cavaliers
27
Cards
3
Lives per run
release years and dates
Ordered by
Cards only
Card reveal

How to play the Cleveland Cavaliers history timeline

This deck is a run of Cavaliers milestones, from the franchise's first season to its recent playoff teams, and the goal is to order them by year. Each card carries a headline and a line of description beneath it. You start with one card on the line and its year showing. Place each new card where you think it falls; get it right and the year is shown, get it wrong and it drops into the correct gap and takes one of your three lives.

One superstar's comings and goings shape a big part of this deck, and that's what makes it tricky: arrivals, departures and returns are hard to keep straight. Around that story you'll find lean years, ownership changes, arena moves and a few memorable playoff runs, plus a younger core built through the draft and trades. Read the descriptions for hints about who was on the roster at the time.

Want a longer game? On the deck tree you can tick this deck alongside any other one measured in release years and dates, and they shuffle into a single timeline together.

What's in the deck

Here are 27 of the 27 cards you might be dealt. Their values stay hidden until you place them.

  • Played their first NBA season The expansion team lost its first 15 games before finding its footing
  • The 'Miracle of Richfield' playoff run They won a division title and their first postseason series under Bill Fitch
  • Acquired World B. Free The high-scoring guard arrived to revive a struggling franchise
  • The Gund brothers bought the team from Ted Stepien New owners rescued the club after a chaotic ownership era
  • Drafted Brad Daugherty and Ron Harper A loaded draft class also brought in Mark Price via trade
  • Acquired Larry Nance in a blockbuster trade The forward came from Phoenix to anchor a rising contender
  • Won 57 games, then lost on Jordan's 'The Shot' A franchise-best season ended on a buzzer-beater over Craig Ehlo
  • Reached the Eastern Conference Finals They fell to Jordan's Bulls in six games
  • Gund Arena opened downtown The team left suburban Richfield Coliseum for a new city arena
  • Drafted Zydrunas Ilgauskas The Lithuanian center who became a franchise mainstay was taken in the first round
  • Drafted Andre Miller The Utah point guard was chosen eighth overall
  • Drafted LeBron James first overall The Akron prodigy went straight from St. Vincent-St. Mary to the hometown team
  • LeBron won Rookie of the Year The teenager averaged nearly 21 points in his debut season
  • Mike Brown hired as head coach The defensive-minded coach arrived from San Antonio's staff
  • Reached the franchise's first NBA Finals LeBron carried them there before a sweep by the Spurs
  • LeBron won his first MVP as the team won 66 games He claimed the award while leading the league's best regular-season record
  • 'The Decision' — LeBron left in free agency He announced on television he was taking his talents to South Beach
  • Drafted Kyrie Irving first overall The Duke guard went No. 1 after they won the post-LeBron lottery
  • LeBron returned home He announced his comeback to Cleveland in a first-person essay
  • Reached the Finals in LeBron's first year back An injury-hit roster pushed Golden State before losing
  • Won the franchise's first NBA championship They rallied from a 3-1 deficit against a 73-win Warriors team
  • Kyrie Irving traded to Boston The star guard's trade request sent him east for Isaiah Thomas
  • LeBron departed for the Lakers He left after a fourth straight Finals appearance
  • Drafted Darius Garland The Vanderbilt guard was taken fifth overall to headline the rebuild
  • Drafted Evan Mobley The USC big man was selected third overall
  • Acquired Donovan Mitchell in a trade The All-Star guard arrived from Utah for a package of picks
  • Returned to the playoffs behind Mitchell and Garland A 51-win season ended a postseason drought

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