2025–26 Cleveland Cavaliers season
2025–26 NBA season by team
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The 2025–26 Cleveland Cavaliers season is the 56th season for the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
| 2025–26 Cleveland Cavaliers season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Kenny Atkinson |
| President | Koby Altman |
| General manager | Mike Gansey |
| Owner | Dan Gilbert |
| Arena | Rocket Arena |
| Results | |
| Record | 52–30 (.634) |
| Place | Division: 2nd (Central) Conference: 4th (Eastern) |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | FanDuel Sports Network Ohio Rock Entertainment Sports Network (5 simulcasts) |
| Radio | WTAM · WMMS |
With a loss to the Utah Jazz on January 12, the Cavaliers were not able to improve on their 64–18 record from their previous season. On February 4, they traded Darius Garland and a 2026 second-round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers for James Harden.
The Cavaliers clinched a playoff spot for the fourth consecutive year on April 2 with a win over the Golden State Warriors.[1] They finished fourth in the East with a 52–30 record. In the playoffs, they defeated the Toronto Raptors in the first round and overcame a 2–0 series deficit against the top-seeded Detroit Pistons in the semifinals, each in seven games. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2018 and the first time without LeBron James on their roster since 1992, facing off against the New York Knicks.
The Cavaliers became the first team since the 2000 New York Knicks to win the conference semifinals after eliminating the Toronto Raptors in the first round, and the second team overall. Additionally, the Cavaliers are now 4-0 in the series following those against the Raptors.
Against the Pistons, the Cavaliers overcame a 2–0 series deficit for the fourth time in franchise history, after:
- 2007 Eastern Conference Finals, against the Detroit Pistons
- 2016 NBA Finals, against the Golden State Warriors (also a 3–1 comeback)
- 2018 Eastern Conference Finals, against the Boston Celtics
Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position(s) | Nationality | College / Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 49 | Tyrese Proctor | PG/SG |  Australia |
Duke |
| 2 | 58 | Saliou Niang | SG/SF |  Senegal Italy |
Aquila Basket Trento (Italy) |
The Cavaliers entered the draft holding two second-round picks: their own 58th pick and the additional 49th pick acquired via trade with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2020.[2][3] Their first-round pick was held by the Phoenix Suns via the Utah Jazz; Cleveland had originally traded that pick to Utah in 2022 for guard Donovan Mitchell.
Roster
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
Standings
Division
| Central Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c – Detroit Pistons | 60 | 22 | .732 | – | 32–9 | 28–13 | 12–4 | 82 |
| x – Cleveland Cavaliers | 52 | 30 | .634 | 8.0 | 27–14 | 25–16 | 10–5 | 82 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 32 | 50 | .390 | 28.0 | 19–22 | 13–28 | 9–7 | 82 |
| Chicago Bulls | 31 | 51 | .378 | 29.0 | 18–23 | 13–28 | 4–12 | 82 |
| Indiana Pacers | 19 | 63 | .232 | 41.0 | 11–29 | 8–34 | 4–12 | 82 |
Conference
| Eastern Conference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | c – Detroit Pistons * | 60 | 22 | .732 | – | 82 |
| 2 | y – Boston Celtics * | 56 | 26 | .683 | 4.0 | 82 |
| 3 | x – New York Knicks | 53 | 29 | .646 | 7.0 | 82 |
| 4 | x – Cleveland Cavaliers | 52 | 30 | .634 | 8.0 | 82 |
| 5 | x – Toronto Raptors | 46 | 36 | .561 | 14.0 | 82 |
| 6 | y – Atlanta Hawks * | 46 | 36 | .561 | 14.0 | 82 |
| 7 | x – Philadelphia 76ers | 45 | 37 | .549 | 15.0 | 82 |
| 8 | x – Orlando Magic | 45 | 37 | .549 | 15.0 | 82 |
| 9 | pi – Charlotte Hornets | 44 | 38 | .537 | 16.0 | 82 |
| 10 | pi – Miami Heat | 43 | 39 | .524 | 17.0 | 82 |
| 11 | Milwaukee Bucks | 32 | 50 | .390 | 28.0 | 82 |
| 12 | Chicago Bulls | 31 | 51 | .378 | 29.0 | 82 |
| 13 | Brooklyn Nets | 20 | 62 | .244 | 40.0 | 82 |
| 14 | Indiana Pacers | 19 | 63 | .232 | 41.0 | 82 |
| 15 | Washington Wizards | 17 | 65 | .207 | 43.0 | 82 |
Game log
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Preseason
| 2025 preseason game log Total: 1–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preseason: 1–3 (home: 1–1; road: 0–2)
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| 2025–26 preseason schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
| 2025–26 game log Total: 52–30 (Home: 27–14; Road: 25–16) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 3–3 (home: 1–1; road: 2–2)
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November: 9–6 (home: 7–3; road: 2–3)
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December: 7–7 (home: 4–4; road: 3–3)
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January: 10–5 (home: 5–3; road: 5–2)
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February: 8–3 (home: 3–0; road: 5–3)
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March: 10–5 (home: 4–3; road: 6–2)
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April: 5–1 (home: 3–0; road: 2–1)
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| 2025–26 season schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playoffs
| 2026 playoff game log Total: 8–7 (home: 6–1; road: 2–6) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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First Round: 4–3 (home: 4–0; road: 0–3)
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Conference Semifinals: 4–3 (home: 2–1; road: 2–2)
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Conference Finals: 0–1 (home: 0–0; road: 0–1)
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| 2026 playoff schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NBA Cup
East Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toronto Raptors | 4 | 4 | 0 | 458 | 403 | +55 | Advanced to knockout rounds |
| 2 | Atlanta Hawks | 4 | 2 | 2 | 468 | 472 | −4 | |
| 3 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 4 | 2 | 2 | 492 | 466 | +26 | |
| 4 | Indiana Pacers | 4 | 1 | 3 | 431 | 431 | 0 | |
| 5 | Washington Wizards | 4 | 1 | 3 | 443 | 520 | −77 |
Source: NBA
Player statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
Regular season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jarrett Allen | 56 | 56 | 27.1 | .638 | .100 | .709 | 8.5 | 1.8 | 1.0 | .8 | 15.4 |
| Lonzo Ball | 35 | 3 | 20.8 | .301 | .272 | .667 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 1.3 | .3 | 4.6 |
| Darius Brown | 1 | 0 | 3.0 | .000 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | ||
| Thomas Bryant | 60 | 1 | 12.2 | .506 | .359 | .803 | 3.4 | .6 | .3 | .4 | 6.2 |
| Keon Ellis† | 29 | 6 | 24.8 | .491 | .355 | .816 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 1.3 | .8 | 8.3 |
| Tristan Enaruna | 9 | 0 | 9.4 | .500 | .300 | .750 | 1.6 | .8 | .6 | .0 | 4.1 |
| Darius Garland† | 26 | 26 | 30.5 | .451 | .360 | .861 | 2.4 | 6.9 | .8 | .1 | 18.0 |
| James Harden† | 26 | 26 | 33.8 | .466 | .435 | .840 | 4.8 | 7.7 | .8 | .5 | 20.5 |
| De'Andre Hunter† | 43 | 23 | 26.2 | .423 | .308 | .869 | 4.2 | 2.1 | .7 | .1 | 14.0 |
| Chris Livingston | 3 | 0 | 5.7 | .571 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.0 | .3 | .3 | .0 | 3.0 |
| Sam Merrill | 52 | 38 | 26.5 | .461 | .421 | .855 | 2.6 | 2.4 | .6 | .1 | 12.8 |
| Riley Minix† | 6 | 0 | 8.3 | .588 | .333 | 1.000 | .7 | .7 | .2 | .2 | 4.3 |
| Donovan Mitchell | 70 | 70 | 33.5 | .483 | .364 | .865 | 4.5 | 5.7 | 1.5 | .3 | 27.9 |
| Evan Mobley | 65 | 63 | 31.9 | .546 | .297 | .606 | 9.0 | 3.6 | .7 | 1.7 | 18.2 |
| Larry Nance Jr. | 35 | 3 | 12.8 | .419 | .333 | .462 | 2.7 | 1.0 | .6 | .2 | 3.7 |
| Craig Porter Jr. | 64 | 3 | 17.9 | .450 | .355 | .600 | 3.4 | 3.2 | .9 | .6 | 4.5 |
| Tyrese Proctor | 50 | 1 | 10.9 | .413 | .351 | .889 | 1.3 | 1.5 | .5 | .0 | 5.4 |
| Olivier Sarr | 4 | 0 | 9.8 | .714 | .667 | .400 | 2.8 | 1.3 | .5 | .8 | 3.5 |
| Dennis Schröder† | 30 | 3 | 21.4 | .401 | .290 | .861 | 2.3 | 4.3 | .8 | .2 | 8.2 |
| Max Strus | 12 | 5 | 24.0 | .443 | .402 | .778 | 5.4 | 2.0 | .3 | .0 | 11.2 |
| Nae'Qwan Tomlin | 64 | 3 | 15.7 | .478 | .235 | .770 | 2.9 | .8 | .6 | .5 | 5.8 |
| Luke Travers | 12 | 0 | 8.6 | .250 | .063 | 1.000 | 2.0 | .8 | .6 | .3 | 2.3 |
| Jaylon Tyson | 66 | 42 | 26.9 | .493 | .446 | .738 | 5.1 | 2.2 | .8 | .4 | 13.2 |
| Dean Wade | 59 | 38 | 22.3 | .439 | .362 | .711 | 4.2 | 1.5 | .7 | .4 | 5.8 |
- † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Cavaliers only.
Transactions
Trades
| June 28, 2025[4][5] | To Cleveland Cavaliers Lonzo Ball |
To Chicago Bulls Isaac Okoro |
| February 1, 2026 | To Cleveland Cavaliers Keon Ellis (from Sacramento)
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To Chicago Bulls Dario Šarić (from Sacramento)
|
| To Sacramento Kings De'Andre Hunter (from Cleveland) | ||
| February 4, 2026 | To Cleveland Cavaliers James Harden |
To Los Angeles Clippers Darius Garland 2026 CLE second-round pick |
| February 5, 2026 | To Cleveland Cavaliers Cash considerations |
To Utah Jazz Lonzo Ball 2028 CLE second-round pick 2032 CLE second-round pick |
Free agency
Re-signed
| Date | Player | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| June 28, 2025 | Sam Merrill | [6] |
| July 2, 2025 | Luke Travers | [7] |
Additions
| Date | Player | Former Team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 1, 2025 | Larry Nance Jr. | Atlanta Hawks | [8] |
Subtractions
| Date | Player | Reason | New Team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 30, 2025 | Ty Jerome | Free agency | Memphis Grizzlies | [9] |
| July 21, 2025 | Chuma Okeke | Free agency |  Real Madrid Baloncesto |
[10] |
Notes
- The least favorable of the picks originally belonging to Detroit, Milwaukee, and New York.