1992–93 Cleveland Cavaliers season

Off-season

During the off-season, the Cavaliers signed free agent Gerald Wilkins,^[2][3][4] and later on traded Steve Kerr to the Orlando Magic in exchange for a second-round draft pick, during the first month of the regular season.^[5][6]

Regular season

With the addition of Wilkins, the Cavaliers struggled playing below .500 in winning percentage with an 8–11 start to the regular season. However, the team soon recovered by posting a seven-game winning streak in December afterwards, and later on held a 34–19 record at the All-Star break.^[7] The Cavaliers posted a 12–1 record in February, which included another seven-game winning streak, and then posted a ten-game winning streak in April, finishing in second place in the Central Division with a 54–28 record, and earning the third seed in the Eastern Conference; the team also posted a very successful 35–6 home record at the Coliseum at Richfield during the regular season.^[8]

Brad Daugherty averaged 20.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, while Mark Price averaged 18.2 points and 8.0 assists per game, led the Cavaliers with 122 three-point field goals, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, and Larry Nance provided the team with 16.5 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. In addition, Craig Ehlo provided with 11.6 points and 1.3 steals per game, while Wilkins contributed 11.1 points per game, and sixth man Hot Rod Williams averaged 11.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game off the bench. Meanwhile, starting small forward Mike Sanders contributed 8.6 points per game, while also off the bench, second-year guard Terrell Brandon provided with 8.8 points and 3.7 assists per game, and Danny Ferry averaged 7.5 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.^[9]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, Daugherty, Price and Nance were all selected for the 1993 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; it was the fifth and final All-Star appearance for Daugherty, and the third and final All-Star appearance for Nance.^[10][11][12] In addition, Price also won the NBA Three-Point Shootout.^[13][11][14] Price also finished tied in eighth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Daugherty finished tied in tenth place,^[15][16] and head coach Lenny Wilkens finished in eighth place in Coach of the Year voting.^[17][16]

The Cavaliers finished eighth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 751,465 at the Coliseum at Richfield during the regular season.^[9][18]

NBA playoffs

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1993 NBA playoffs, and for the second consecutive year, the Cavaliers faced off against the 6th–seeded New Jersey Nets, a team that featured Dražen Petrović, Derrick Coleman and Chris Morris. The Nets were without second-year star Kenny Anderson, who was out due to a season-ending wrist injury. The Cavaliers took a 2–1 series lead before losing Game 4 to the Nets on the road, 96–79 at the Brendan Byrne Arena.^[19][20][21] With the series tied at 2–2, the Cavaliers won Game 5 over the Nets at home, 99–89 at the Coliseum at Richfield to win in a hard-fought five-game series.^[22][23][24]

In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, and also for the second consecutive year, the team faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and 2-time defending NBA champion Chicago Bulls, who won the Central Division title, and were led by the trio of All-Star guard Michael Jordan, All-Star forward Scottie Pippen, and Horace Grant. The Cavaliers lost the first two games to the Bulls on the road at the Chicago Stadium, and then lost their next two home games. In Game 4 at the Coliseum at Richfield, Jordan hit another game-winning buzzer-beater against the Cavaliers; the Bulls won the game, 103–101, as the Cavaliers lost the series in a four-game sweep.^[25][26][27]

The Bulls would go on to defeat the Phoenix Suns in six games in the 1993 NBA Finals, winning their third consecutive NBA championship.^[28][29][30]

Notable highlights

A forgotten highlight of the regular season occurred on January 15, 1993, in a road game against the Indiana Pacers at the Market Square Arena; after trailing to the Pacers at halftime, 64–49, the Cavaliers rallied and set a franchise record by scoring 83 points in the second half to win the game, 132–120.^[31][32][33]

Aftermath

Following the season, Wilkens resigned and took a coaching job with the Atlanta Hawks,^[34][35][36] while Ehlo signed as a free agent with the Hawks,^[37][38][39] and Sanders retired. Until the 2023–24 season, this would be the final time that the Cavaliers won an NBA playoff series without future All-Star LeBron James, who was selected by the team as the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft.

Season standings

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Game log

Season

Playoffs

Player statistics citation:^[9]