Cleveland Cavaliers

Richfield, and the long apprenticeship

Cleveland joined the NBA in 1970 as an expansion club, admitted in the same intake as Portland and Buffalo, and lost steadily for five seasons before winning anything. The breakthrough came in 1976 with a first Central Division title and a seven-game Eastern Conference semi-final against Washington that the city has never stopped referring to as the Miracle of Richfield, settled by a Dick Snyder shot in the closing seconds of the decider. Boston ended the run in the next round.

The team has had three homes. Cleveland Arena held them until 1974, the Coliseum at Richfield until 1994, and since then they have played downtown in the building at 1 Center Court that opened on 17 October 1994 with a Billy Joel concert. It has carried four names: Gund Arena, then Quicken Loans Arena after Dan Gilbert bought the naming rights in 2005, then Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse following a roughly $185m renovation completed in September 2019 that widened the concourses and removed three upper-level seating sections, and then Rocket Arena from 18 February 2025, when Gilbert's companies consolidated under a single brand. Basketball capacity is 19,432.

Two LeBron eras and the comeback from 3-1

LeBron James, from Akron, was taken first overall in the 2003 draft and dragged a modest roster to the franchise's first NBA Finals in 2007, where San Antonio swept them. He left for Miami in 2010, returned in 2014, and the club then made four consecutive Finals from 2015 to 2018, all against Golden State.

The one they won is the one that defines the place. In 2016 Cleveland became the first team to recover from 3-1 down in the Finals, and ten years on the anniversary is woven through this season's home calendar. Gilbert has owned the team since 2005; the minority holders include Usher Raymond and the Browns defensive end Myles Garrett.

Atkinson, 64 wins, and the Harden trade

Kenny Atkinson took over for 2024-25 and immediately produced the best regular season in franchise history, 64-18, with Evan Mobley voted Defensive Player of the Year and Atkinson named Coach of the Year. The follow-up was messier and more interesting. On 4 February 2026 the front office traded Darius Garland and a second-round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers for James Harden, breaking up a guard pairing it had spent years defending.

The reshaped team finished 52-30, fourth in the East, and clinched a fourth straight playoff berth on 2 April. It then ground through Toronto 4-3 between 18 April and 3 May, came back from 2-0 down to beat Detroit 4-3 between 5 and 17 May, and ran into New York in the conference finals, losing 0-4 between 19 and 25 May. It was Cleveland's first conference finals since 2018 and the first without James on the roster since 1992. The Knicks went on to win the title, beating San Antonio in five.

Mitchell averaged 27.9 points and 5.7 assists across 70 games. Mobley put up 18.2 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 65. Harden gave them 20.5 points and 7.7 assists after arriving, and Jarrett Allen 15.4 and 8.5 in an injury-shortened 56.

The summer they paid to keep it together

Rather than treat the sweep as a verdict, Cleveland re-signed the top of the roster. Mitchell took a four-year extension worth $273m, Harden three years at $97m. Peyton Watson arrived from Denver in a sign-and-trade on four years and $88m, Cam Whitmore came in from Washington, Mario Hezonja signed a one-year deal worth $2.8m after a spell at Real Madrid, and Thomas Bryant re-signed for a year at $3.5m.

The depth went the other way. Dennis Schroder was traded to Charlotte, Max Strus to the Clippers, and Dean Wade, Larry Nance Jr and Keon Ellis all left in free agency, Wade to Philadelphia. At the draft the Cavaliers selected Alex Karaban 29th and moved his rights to Sacramento for the 34th pick, Meleek Thomas, and a 2032 second-rounder. Koby Altman remains president; the general manager's chair is empty.

The case for them is narrow and precise: Mitchell, Harden, Mobley and Allen played roughly 90 minutes together in the regular season and still reached the conference finals. The case against is a thinner bench and a backcourt that fast teams attacked in transition. Preseason projections had them around 47.5 wins and outside the top ten, behind San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia and New York.

Opening week

The season starts on Thursday 22 October in Philadelphia, 7pm Eastern on ESPN, which is a fixture the schedule-makers could hardly have set up more neatly: James signed with the 76ers rather than returning to Cleveland, Wade went with him, and Harden faces the club he spent a season and a half with. The Cavaliers went 1-2 in preseason.

The injury report for the opener lists Allen as questionable with right patellar tendinopathy, described as a new problem and to be assessed before tip-off, which would push Mobley to centre and open minutes for Bryant. Khalifa Diop is out with left-knee management and Nae'Qwan Tomlin out three to six weeks with a low-back stress reaction. Harden and Mobley are both available.

The home opener is Saturday 24 October against Brooklyn at 7.30pm, with a T-shirt and rally towel for everyone through the doors, DJ Paul Wall at half-time, and a yard-sign pickup at Meet Me Here Plaza on the Wednesday beforehand.

Forty-one nights at Rocket Arena

Of the 82 dates, 41 are downtown, and the promotional calendar is built around the 2016 anniversary. There are three commemorative nights: 7 November against New York, which doubles as the conference finals rematch; 14 November against Dallas, with a free championship mini-banner; and 12 December against Golden State, when a Matthew Dellavedova bobblehead is handed out. Sam Merrill gets a bobblehead on 20 December against Utah and Harden one on 9 February 2027 against Toronto. A Donovan Mitchell foam finger goes out on 21 December against the Knicks for Marvel Night, with a Sword Magazine on 27 January and mystery mascot plushes on 14 February. Fourteen further theme nights run across the year, from Salute to Service and MLK Jr Day to Pride Night and heritage celebrations.

The building itself has been reworked again for this season. Gilly's Clubhouse opens as an all-inclusive upper-level club and the NJM Court Club sells courtside seats; the concessions list has added Delia's fried chicken, a Mediterranean flatbread at P Street Market Cafe, hibachi bowls at Pearl's Kitchen, coconut shrimp bao buns at Rocco Whalen's 216 degrees and truffle onion rings at Flour.