This year’s NBA Finals brings another opportunity for a Cleveland sports franchise to burst the curse of the city’s 52-year championship drought. How does these red-hot Cavaliers measure up to other Cleveland teams that have knocked on the championship door after the 1964 Browns’ NFL title?
Here are my qualifying rules:
1. The team had to make it to at least the playoff final four. So good bye, 1980 Kardiac Kids (lost to Oakland in the final eight round). And here’s a ‘see ya later’ to the Shaq’s 2010 top-seeded Cavs (lost to Boston in the final eight).
2. You had to pass my personal eye-test. I was born in 1970. So that eliminates the 1965, 1968 and 1969 Browns. And the only thing I remember about the 1976 Miracle in Richfield is this all-time great sports song…
#12: 2007 CAVALIERS
*50-32 regular season record
*Chance of winning the title heading into the Final Four: 5% (iffy supporting cast, tough opponent)
LeBron’s first trip to the NBA Finals caught most everyone by surprise. #1 seeded Pistons, conference champs in 2004 and 2005 were still considered the Beast of the East. Most assumed that the realistic goal for Cleveland was simply reaching the conference finals. The youthful Cavs were supposed to be at least a year away from knocking Detroit off its perch. But then came the coronation of The King in his historic Game 5 at Detroit. LBJ not only poured in 48 points; he scored ALL of Cleveland’s last 25 points, including 18 in overtime. The Cavs closed out Detroit, 98-82, in Game 6.
Why is this team at the bottom of the list? Two reasons:
1. Their NBA Finals opponent was the San Antonio Spurs, a talented and experienced team that had won NBA titles in 1999, 2003, and 2005.
2. The four other starters alongside LeBron were Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Drew Gooden, Sasha Pavlovic, and Larry Hughes.
#11: 1989 BROWNS
*9-6-1 regular season record
*Chance of winning the title heading into the Final Four: 8% (tough road)
This oft-forgotten team took Cleveland fans on a season-ending roller coaster ride that could earn a two-hour wait at Cedar Point. The team fell to 7-6-1 with a 23-17 overtime loss at Indianapolis on a returned interception. The Browns then used a fake field gold to pull out their own 23-17 overtime thriller over the Vikings in front of a snowy hometown crowd. That set up a Central Division title showdown at Houston. The Oilers scored a touchdown late after Clay Matthews intercepted a pass, but then gave the ball back on a crazy no-look lateral. But Kevin Mack bulled in for a touchdown with 39 seconds left to give the Dawgs a 24-20 win.
Matthews redeemed himself in the divisional round of the playoffs by intercepting Bills QB Jim Kelly at the goalline in the final moments to preserve a 34-30 win.
The tall tasks that followed gave this team little hope of reaching the mountaintop. For the AFC championship game, they had to travel to Denver, where they had lost in their six previous trips. And they lost again, 37-21. Denver then got spanked in Super Bowl XXII, 55-10, by Joe Montana and the 49ers.
#10: 1992 CAVALIERS
*57-25 regular season record
*Chance of winning the title heading into the Final Four: 12% (legendary individual opponent)
This blue and orange Cavs team had the NBA’s second best record. Familiar names like Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, Larry Nance, John ‘Hot Rod’ Williams, and Craig Ehlo had become like family members to Cleveland fans. Nance joined the franchise via trade in 1987, while the other four all debuted for the Cavs in 1985.
Cleveland handed New Jersey a 3-1 defeat in the opening series, then battled against an aging, but proud Celtic team in round two. I was a part of a raucous Game 7 Richfield Coliseum crowd that cheered the hometown boys to a 122-104 win in what would be Larry Bird’s last game.
Next, they faced their hated rivals, the defending champion and top-seeded Bulls, in the conference finals. Chicago won tight 3-2 series over the Cavs in 1988 as well as 1989. You might even remember “The Shot’ of Michael Jordan to end game 5 of 1989.
The Cavs and their fans were hungry for revenge. In losing Game 1, 103-89, they picked up the ‘marsh mellow’ label from the media for their soft play. They put that label to rest by dominating Jordan on his own floor, 107-81. After a split in Cleveland, the Bulls won Game 5 at home, then edged the Cavs 99-94 to close out the series.
Chicago beat Portland 4-2, to win the title.
#9: 1998 INDIANS
*89-73 regular season record
*Chance of winning the title heading into the Final Four: 15% (historically successful opponent)
This is another title contender that tends to be forgotten after the near misses of 1995 and 1997. Along with the usual pillars of Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, Omar Visquel, and Kenny Lofton (just back from a year at Atlanta), other key contributors were Travis Fryman, David Justice, and Brian Giles.
Baseball, more than the other sports, is pretty wide open once the playoffs start. Any qualifying team can ride a couple of hot pitchers and some clutch hitting to come out with the championship hardware. The Indians gained play-off momentum by beating Boston 3-1 in the opening divisional playoff series. But in the American League Championship Series, they ran into a buzzsaw: The New York Yankees, who won an American League record 114 games that season. The Tribe put up a fight, but lost the series, 4-2. The Yanks swept San Diego in the World Series and also defended their crown in 1999 and 2000.
#8: 2009 CAVALIERS
*66-16 regular season record (NBA best)
*Chance of winning the title heading into the Final Four: 20% (iffy supporting cast)
The Cavs raced through the regular season, then swept Detroit and Atlanta to get to Orlando in the conference finals. The Magic stole game one, 107-106. Then came LBJ’s greatest buzzer beater to steal Game 2. Click here for some goosebumps.
Behind Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, and Rashard Lewis, Orlando went on to win the series 4-2. LeBron averaged 38.5 points, but the rest of the starters — Mo Williams, Delonte West, Ben Wallace, and Illgauskas–couldn’t provide enough support.
Orlando then lost to a powerful Kobe-led Lakers team, 4-1.
#7: 1987 BROWNS
*10-5 regular season record (lost one game to a players’ strike)
*Chance of winning the title heading into the Final Four: 25% (tough road test and bad luck, part two)
After the heart-breaking 1986 season of ‘The Drive’, the Browns bounced back into form, winning the Central Division for the third straight year. Their 38-21 romp over the Colts in the divisional round had the Cleveland fans in a frenzy for a AFC championship rematch with John Elway and the Broncos.
Mile High Stadium gave Denver one of the greatest home field advantages in sports: a one-two punch of a loud, passionate crowd, as well as the difficulties of opponents adjusting to the altitude change. The Browns were overwhelmed, falling behind 21-3 at the half. But Bernie Kosar, Earnest Byner, and the lethal Browns offense put on a virtuoso second half performance, scoring touchdowns on their first four possessions to tie the game at 31. After Elway’s boys put up another TD, the Browns drove to the 8 yard line with a minute left. Then came The Fumble.
In Super Bowl XXII, the favored Broncos got pounded by an underwhelming Redskin team.
#6: 2015 CAVALIERS
*53-29 regular season record
*Chance of winning the title heading into the Final Four: 30% (injuries galore and a hot Finals opponent)
It was only a year ago when the Cavs got to the NBA finals with a 4-0 sweep over Boston, a gritty 4-2 series win over Chicago, and another 4-0 sweep of the top-seeded Hawks. Even though Kevin Love suffered a season-ending shoulder injury against the Celtics, we felt pretty good heading into our matchup with Golden State, with Kyrie appearing to be mostly healed from some lingering injuries. Irving and James balled up in Game 1 on the road. LBJ missed a late shot to win in in regulation. Overtime came, and unfortunately, Kyrie’s knee cap went, along with the chance at victory. LeBron strapped the team on his back to win both Game 2 (in overtime) and Game 3. But eventually, Golden State’s talent (and health) took over, winning the last three games.
#5: 2007 INDIANS
*96-66 regular season record (tied for MLB best)
*Chance of winning the title heading into the Final Four: 31% (blown opportunity)
The youthful nucleus of Grady Sizemore, Victor Martinez, Travis Hafner, Jhonny Peralta, C.C. Sabathia, and Fausto Carmona had the Tribe knocking on the door to a World Series title. They handled the Yankees in the division series, then had a 3-1 series lead over the Red Sox in the ALCS. But ace pitcher Sabathia couldn’t close out Boston at home in Game 5 and the Sox rolled from there. Boston then swept a mediocre Colorado Rockies team in the World Series.
#4: 1986 BROWNS
*12-4 regular season record
*Chance of winning the title heading into the Final Four: 33% (ELWAY and LT)
You think Northeastern Ohio has playoff fever right now with this Cavs’ run? Multiply it by about 100 to feel the crazy frenzy of Browns’ fans in 1986. Just about song on the radio like this was about the Browns. I even ate a dog biscuit for lunch at school!
In the divisional round, Cleveland miraculously overcame a 20-1o deficit in the final minutes to beat the Jets, 23-20, in double overtime. The Browns then hosted Denver in the AFC championship. With 5:43 left, this 48-yard Brian Brennan touchdown pass put the Browns up 20-13, marking my emotional high point as a fan. (got to 0:45 in this video, watch 20 seconds, and SKIP THE REST)…
Even if ‘The Drive’ never happened, the Browns’ would have had their hands full with the eventual Super Bowl champion Giants. New York, led by Lawrence Taylor, won their play-off games 49-3 (knocking out Joe Montana), 17-0, and 39-20.
#3: 1997 INDIANS
*86-75 regular season record
*Chance of winning the title heading into the Final Four: 35% (Cleveland Curse trumps Team of Destiny)
On paper, this team wasn’t supposed to be a champion. The cornerstones of Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton, and Carlos Baerga were gone. But this scrappy team stepped up when the playoffs came around. The Yankees went up 2-1 in the opening divisional series. Sandy Alomar continued his magical season with a clutch 8th inning home run in game 4 to stave off elimination. The Tribe went on to win that series, 3 games to 2. Cleveland then topped the Orioles 4-2 in the ALCS.
The Indians took the wild card Marlins to a World Series game seven. Rookie pitching sensation Jared Wright helped stake Cleveland to a 2-1 lead. But in the 9th inning, manager Mike Hargrove went with struggling closer Jose Mesa. Florida tied it with a 1-out sacrifice fly, then won the title in the 11th inning.
#2: 1995 INDIANS
*100-44 regular season record (MLB best, shortened season)
*Chance of winning the title heading into the Final Four: 40% (Great Pitching trumps Great Hitting)
A line up full of current (Eddie Murray), future (Jim Thome, Omar Visquel), and potential Hall of Famers (Manny Ramirez, Belle), as well as all-star talent of Lofton, Baerga, and Alomar. All but the golden-gloved shortstop batted over .300, with 5 hitting at least 20 HRs. Indian fever was at its apex, with the team’s 455-game sell-out streak starting that June.
The Tribe got to the World Series by sweeping Boston 3-0 and beating Seattle 4-2. But Atlanta’s ace pitching staff of eventual Hall of Famers Greg Maddox, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz closed the door. The Indians had only two hits in game 1, and just one hit in the finale, game 6.
#1: 2016 CAVALIERS
*57-25 regular season record
*Chance of winning the title heading into the Final Four: 49%
Can the Cavs slow down the Splash Brothers and the record-setting Warriors? I think it will come down to a game 7, where it will take another epic LBJ road performance to grab that elusive title.