1993–94 Cleveland Cavaliers season

The 1993–94 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 24th season for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the National Basketball Association.^[1] The Cavaliers had the 22nd overall pick in the 1993 NBA draft, and selected small forward Chris Mills from the University of Arizona,^[2][3][4] acquired Tyrone Hill from the Golden State Warriors during the off-season,^[5][6][7] and signed free agent Rod Higgins in December.^[8] The team also hired Mike Fratello as their new head coach.^[9][10][11]

Under Fratello, and with the addition of Hill and Mills, the Cavaliers got off to a 6–6 start to the regular season, but then struggled losing eight of their next nine games, and falling below .500 in winning percentage with a 7–14 start to the season. However, the team soon recovered playing above .500 for the remainder of the season, and holding a 24–23 record at the All-Star break.^[12] The team dealt with injuries as Brad Daugherty only played just 50 games due to a back injury,^[13][14][15] while Larry Nance only appeared in just 33 games due to a knee injury,^[16][17][18] and Hill only played 57 games due to thumb and knee injuries.^[19][16][20] Despite the injuries, the Cavaliers posted an 11-game winning streak between February and March, and finished in fourth place in the Central Division with a 47–35 record, earning the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.^[21]

Mark Price averaged 17.3 points, 7.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game, led the Cavaliers with 118 three-point field goals, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team. In addition, Daugherty averaged 17.0 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, while Gerald Wilkins provided the team with 14.3 points and 1.3 steals per game, Hot Rod Williams contributed 13.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, Nance provided with 11.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, and Hill contributed 10.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Mills averaged 9.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game off the bench, while Bobby Phills became the team's starting shooting guard, averaging 8.3 points per game, Terrell Brandon provided with 8.3 points and 3.8 assists per game off the bench, and John Battle contributed 6.6 points per game also off the bench.^[22]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Price was selected for the 1994 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; it was his fourth and final All-Star appearance.^[23][24][25] In addition, Price won the NBA Three-Point Shootout for the second consecutive year,^[26][24][27] while Mills was selected for the inaugural NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Sensations team.^[28][29] Price also finished in ninth place in Most Valuable Player voting.^[30][31]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1994 NBA playoffs, and for the third consecutive year, the Cavaliers faced off against the 3rd–seeded, and 3-time defending NBA champion Chicago Bulls; All-Star guard Michael Jordan had retired prior to the season to pursue a baseball career, as the Bulls were now led by the All-Star trio of Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant and B.J. Armstrong.^[32][33][34] However, during the final month of the regular season, Williams suffered a season-ending right thumb injury; without Daugherty, Nance and Williams, the Cavaliers lacked big men on the team for their first-round series against the Bulls.^[35][36][37] The Cavaliers lost the first two games to the Bulls on the road at the Chicago Stadium, before losing Game 3 at home in overtime, 95–92 at the Coliseum at Richfield, thus losing the series in a three-game sweep.^[38][39][40]

The Cavaliers finished eighth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 753,686 at the Coliseum at Richfield during the regular season;^[22][41] this was also the team's final season playing at the Coliseum at Richfield in Richfield, Ohio. Following the season, Nance retired after thirteen seasons in the NBA,^[42][18][43] and Higgins was released to free agency; this was also Daugherty's final season of his NBA career, as he would miss all of the next two seasons due to back injuries.^[44][45][46]