Currently, the Cleveland Cavaliers have six former players' jersey numbers in the rafters. They are: #7 (Bingo Smith), #22 (Larry Nance), #25 (Mark Price), #34 (Austin Carr), #42 (Nate Thurmond), and #43 (Brad Daugherty). Retiring radio broadcaster Joe Tait's 39 seasons with the team was also honored with the raising of a banner at the end of last season. There is a chance that #23 can be retired to the rafters someday, but that will require either the contrition of one star player or the emergence of another star player who goes on to wear that jersey for the Cavs.
As it stands, the two most likely former Cavaliers to have their jerseys retired in the near future are #11 Zydrunas Ilgauskas and #21 World B. Free. In drafting up the idea for this article over the past month and a half, it has since been learned that the team INTENDS to retire Ilgauskas' #11 sometime in the future. The secret was uncovered when it was revealed that #1 draft pick Kyrie Irving's request for #11 was respectfully denied. Meanwhile, Free was honored at halftime of a Cavaliers game in November 2005 as a team legend, coming just short of jersey retirement.
Originally drafted to play in Cleveland, Zydrunas Ilgauskas made several marks in the Cavaliers' team record book. He ended his tenure with the Cavaliers as the team's all-time leader in games played (771) and offensive rebounds (2,065). Ilgauskas is also 7th all-time in points (8,275--one place and over 1,000 points ahead of Nance) and 3rd in both total rebounds (4,387) and blocks (781). Z's 14.5 points per game rank 17th in team history while his 1.89 blocks per game ties for 2nd.
Along with Campy Russell, Ilgauskas is one of only two Cavs to play for Cavaliers' playoff teams in different eras (Price, Daugherty, Nance, Hot Rod Williams, Terrell Brandon, and Bobby Phills played in the overlapping Wilkens-Fratello era while Phil Hubbard played in the overlapping Karl-Wilkens era). In doing so, his career went through quite a bit of transition. Z started out as a somewhat unknown prospect that made his presence felt as a rookie prospect. His unique skill set, ability to compete with top centers in the league, and chemistry with players such as Shawn Kemp, Vitaly Potapenko, and Brevin Knight immediately made him a team cornerstone.
Unfortunately, injuries led Ilgauskas to evolve from agile rising star to crafty veteran--which is actually comparable to the career trajectory of his idol, legendary Lithuanian center Arvydas Sabonis. Sandwiched in-between winning seasons were several losing ones. Yet, in the team's return to championship contention, Z was one of the few Cavaliers who had the respect of the decidedly departed #23--who memorably stood up for Z when Head Coach Mike Brown failed to play Z in a game in November 2009 that would have allowed him to become the all-time franchise leader in games played. Ilgauskas and #23 memorably met at half court when the team won the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals, realizing the impact the two of them had made on the franchise's history and the joy in finally bringing the team to the NBA Finals. During this time, Ilgauskas helped lead the team despite a heavy heart as he and his wife grieved the miscarriage of twins a few months earlier. Fortunately, Ilgauskas and his wife eventually adopted two Lithuanian boys.
With his career coming to a close, perhaps he can finally get an opportunity to play in the Olympics with Lithuania. Perhaps he can also retire a Cavalier, either through a one-year contract or a one-day contract.
As Ilgauskas partook in a Cavalier revival, so did World B. Free. Free had built up his stardom while playing for the championship contending Philadelphia 76ers, who had lost in the 1977 NBA Finals. Upon being acquired from the Golden State Warriors (where Free was featured on a cover of Sports Illustrated), he immediately brought a flash and presence that the Cavs had been lacking since the year of the Miracle at Richfield, when the team found its confidence with the acquisition of Nate Thurmond. A threat for 40 points every night, Free now ranks as the 10th leading scorer in franchise history in only 3 seasons played (6,329)! His mark of 23.0 points per game ranks 2nd all-time.
In hyping up the pending re-signing of the newly acquired Free, the team once flew Free to the arena in a helicopter and gave him the red carpet treatment. This attracted media attention that was rare to Cleveland sports at the time. As a star with the team for two more seasons, Free continued to help fill the seats as the team and the fans recovered from the eccentric ownership of former team owner Ted Stepien. Stepien's tenure as majority owner included, among other things, changing the team's fight song to a polka and allowing management to trade away a collection of first-round draft picks for marginal players--leading the league to implement the "Stepien Rule" to prevent such excessive trades. Ironically, the "Cavs for Mavs" movement in the '80s included sending the Dallas Mavericks multiple draft picks--until the Mavs returned the favor with the trade of Mark Price to the Cavs in 1986.
World B. Free's bold confidence and willingness to improve his defensive play helped the team overcome one of the worst starts in team history, a ridiculous 2-19 start in 1984-1985. The team finished strongly, earning its first playoff bid in 7 years. The Cavaliers played a very close series with the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 1985 playoffs. The series was so close that the two teams actually scored the same amount of points despite a 3-1 Celtics edge. Free proved his "All-World" moniker by averaging 26.3 points per game, shooting 92% from the free-throw line, and averaging 7.8 assists per game, which was 2nd behind point guard John Bagley.
To this day, World B. Free carries the jersey number retiring endorsement of Joe Tait--who again credits Free for helping save the franchise. Free's return to Cleveland for his honoring as a legend in November 2005 brought some additional good luck to the Cavs as they would go on to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in 8 years.
Despite Z's and Free's timeless memories, there remain counterarguments to the retirement of both players' jersey numbers.
In the case against Ilgauskas, it may be argued that he was never the best player on the team at any point of his career in Cleveland. Shawn Kemp, Andre Miller, Ricky Davis, and the artist formerly known as #23 allegedly hold the distinction of the team's best player in the seasons when Z was here. For example, Ilgauskas's All-Star season in 2002-2003 was tarnished not just by the team's tie for league-worst record, but also by the shameful triple-double attempt of Davis in which Davis shot at the wrong basket to try to obtain his 10th rebound. Furthermore, some may say that Z was not even the best player to wear #11. Point guard Walt "Clyde" Frazier wore #11 in his 2 seasons--both past his prime--with the Cavaliers. Meanwhile, Terrell Brandon wore #11 while serving as the backup to Mark Price. Upon switching to jersey #1, Brandon became an All-Star and was eventually named the NBA's best point guard by Sports Illustrated through a statistical ranking system. Off the top of the head, it seems that only Brandon, #23, and Shaquille O'Neal have graced the cover of Sports Illustrated while playing for the Cavaliers (again, World B. Free's cover appearance occurred while playing for the Warriors).
On the other hand, Free's time with the Cavaliers was much shorter than Z's time with the team. Free spent only 3 years with the Cavs, with 5 other players wearing #21 after him (including Gerald Wilkins and J.J. Hickson); Campy Russell also wore #21 for part of his career before Free's arrival. Formerly named Lloyd, the confident--more often considered cocky and arrogant--Free changed his name to World in self-tribute to his offensive abilities. Free's flamboyant style and lethargic defense caused him to clash with then rookie Head Coach George Karl. When Wayne Embry and Lenny Wilkens took over as General Manager and Head Coach, they did not see Free retiring with the Cavs. Instead, they gave him the option to take a massive pay cut and tutor the newly drafted Ron Harper or go elsewhere. When Free did not agree to those terms, Embry pulled any remaining offers off the table.
Neither Ilgauskas nor Free had a perfectly scripted career, with frequent arguments made by analysts and fans for and against their jersey number retirements. Ilgauskas's long tenure seems to have sealed the deal for his number's retiring, but Free's impact to help save a fading franchise gave the Cavs the chance to have coaches like Wilkens, Fratello, and Brown to lead the team to multiple playoff appearances. For all we know, no World B. Free in Cleveland could have meant no Zydrunas Ilgauskas in Cleveland. If the verdict is 'yes' on Z, perhaps it should also be 'yes' on Free.
As it stands, the two most likely former Cavaliers to have their jerseys retired in the near future are #11 Zydrunas Ilgauskas and #21 World B. Free. In drafting up the idea for this article over the past month and a half, it has since been learned that the team INTENDS to retire Ilgauskas' #11 sometime in the future. The secret was uncovered when it was revealed that #1 draft pick Kyrie Irving's request for #11 was respectfully denied. Meanwhile, Free was honored at halftime of a Cavaliers game in November 2005 as a team legend, coming just short of jersey retirement.
Originally drafted to play in Cleveland, Zydrunas Ilgauskas made several marks in the Cavaliers' team record book. He ended his tenure with the Cavaliers as the team's all-time leader in games played (771) and offensive rebounds (2,065). Ilgauskas is also 7th all-time in points (8,275--one place and over 1,000 points ahead of Nance) and 3rd in both total rebounds (4,387) and blocks (781). Z's 14.5 points per game rank 17th in team history while his 1.89 blocks per game ties for 2nd.
Along with Campy Russell, Ilgauskas is one of only two Cavs to play for Cavaliers' playoff teams in different eras (Price, Daugherty, Nance, Hot Rod Williams, Terrell Brandon, and Bobby Phills played in the overlapping Wilkens-Fratello era while Phil Hubbard played in the overlapping Karl-Wilkens era). In doing so, his career went through quite a bit of transition. Z started out as a somewhat unknown prospect that made his presence felt as a rookie prospect. His unique skill set, ability to compete with top centers in the league, and chemistry with players such as Shawn Kemp, Vitaly Potapenko, and Brevin Knight immediately made him a team cornerstone.
Unfortunately, injuries led Ilgauskas to evolve from agile rising star to crafty veteran--which is actually comparable to the career trajectory of his idol, legendary Lithuanian center Arvydas Sabonis. Sandwiched in-between winning seasons were several losing ones. Yet, in the team's return to championship contention, Z was one of the few Cavaliers who had the respect of the decidedly departed #23--who memorably stood up for Z when Head Coach Mike Brown failed to play Z in a game in November 2009 that would have allowed him to become the all-time franchise leader in games played. Ilgauskas and #23 memorably met at half court when the team won the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals, realizing the impact the two of them had made on the franchise's history and the joy in finally bringing the team to the NBA Finals. During this time, Ilgauskas helped lead the team despite a heavy heart as he and his wife grieved the miscarriage of twins a few months earlier. Fortunately, Ilgauskas and his wife eventually adopted two Lithuanian boys.
With his career coming to a close, perhaps he can finally get an opportunity to play in the Olympics with Lithuania. Perhaps he can also retire a Cavalier, either through a one-year contract or a one-day contract.
As Ilgauskas partook in a Cavalier revival, so did World B. Free. Free had built up his stardom while playing for the championship contending Philadelphia 76ers, who had lost in the 1977 NBA Finals. Upon being acquired from the Golden State Warriors (where Free was featured on a cover of Sports Illustrated), he immediately brought a flash and presence that the Cavs had been lacking since the year of the Miracle at Richfield, when the team found its confidence with the acquisition of Nate Thurmond. A threat for 40 points every night, Free now ranks as the 10th leading scorer in franchise history in only 3 seasons played (6,329)! His mark of 23.0 points per game ranks 2nd all-time.
In hyping up the pending re-signing of the newly acquired Free, the team once flew Free to the arena in a helicopter and gave him the red carpet treatment. This attracted media attention that was rare to Cleveland sports at the time. As a star with the team for two more seasons, Free continued to help fill the seats as the team and the fans recovered from the eccentric ownership of former team owner Ted Stepien. Stepien's tenure as majority owner included, among other things, changing the team's fight song to a polka and allowing management to trade away a collection of first-round draft picks for marginal players--leading the league to implement the "Stepien Rule" to prevent such excessive trades. Ironically, the "Cavs for Mavs" movement in the '80s included sending the Dallas Mavericks multiple draft picks--until the Mavs returned the favor with the trade of Mark Price to the Cavs in 1986.
World B. Free's bold confidence and willingness to improve his defensive play helped the team overcome one of the worst starts in team history, a ridiculous 2-19 start in 1984-1985. The team finished strongly, earning its first playoff bid in 7 years. The Cavaliers played a very close series with the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 1985 playoffs. The series was so close that the two teams actually scored the same amount of points despite a 3-1 Celtics edge. Free proved his "All-World" moniker by averaging 26.3 points per game, shooting 92% from the free-throw line, and averaging 7.8 assists per game, which was 2nd behind point guard John Bagley.
To this day, World B. Free carries the jersey number retiring endorsement of Joe Tait--who again credits Free for helping save the franchise. Free's return to Cleveland for his honoring as a legend in November 2005 brought some additional good luck to the Cavs as they would go on to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in 8 years.
Despite Z's and Free's timeless memories, there remain counterarguments to the retirement of both players' jersey numbers.
In the case against Ilgauskas, it may be argued that he was never the best player on the team at any point of his career in Cleveland. Shawn Kemp, Andre Miller, Ricky Davis, and the artist formerly known as #23 allegedly hold the distinction of the team's best player in the seasons when Z was here. For example, Ilgauskas's All-Star season in 2002-2003 was tarnished not just by the team's tie for league-worst record, but also by the shameful triple-double attempt of Davis in which Davis shot at the wrong basket to try to obtain his 10th rebound. Furthermore, some may say that Z was not even the best player to wear #11. Point guard Walt "Clyde" Frazier wore #11 in his 2 seasons--both past his prime--with the Cavaliers. Meanwhile, Terrell Brandon wore #11 while serving as the backup to Mark Price. Upon switching to jersey #1, Brandon became an All-Star and was eventually named the NBA's best point guard by Sports Illustrated through a statistical ranking system. Off the top of the head, it seems that only Brandon, #23, and Shaquille O'Neal have graced the cover of Sports Illustrated while playing for the Cavaliers (again, World B. Free's cover appearance occurred while playing for the Warriors).
On the other hand, Free's time with the Cavaliers was much shorter than Z's time with the team. Free spent only 3 years with the Cavs, with 5 other players wearing #21 after him (including Gerald Wilkins and J.J. Hickson); Campy Russell also wore #21 for part of his career before Free's arrival. Formerly named Lloyd, the confident--more often considered cocky and arrogant--Free changed his name to World in self-tribute to his offensive abilities. Free's flamboyant style and lethargic defense caused him to clash with then rookie Head Coach George Karl. When Wayne Embry and Lenny Wilkens took over as General Manager and Head Coach, they did not see Free retiring with the Cavs. Instead, they gave him the option to take a massive pay cut and tutor the newly drafted Ron Harper or go elsewhere. When Free did not agree to those terms, Embry pulled any remaining offers off the table.
Neither Ilgauskas nor Free had a perfectly scripted career, with frequent arguments made by analysts and fans for and against their jersey number retirements. Ilgauskas's long tenure seems to have sealed the deal for his number's retiring, but Free's impact to help save a fading franchise gave the Cavs the chance to have coaches like Wilkens, Fratello, and Brown to lead the team to multiple playoff appearances. For all we know, no World B. Free in Cleveland could have meant no Zydrunas Ilgauskas in Cleveland. If the verdict is 'yes' on Z, perhaps it should also be 'yes' on Free.