featured-image

This Week in Cavaliers History

The month of February holds great significance in the Cavaliers organization. For starters, it includes the Black Heritage Celebration, which pays tribute to African-American culture and achievement in recognition of Black History Month (Friday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers is Black Achievement Night, click here for details).

Secondly, it marked the beginning of the Cleveland Cavaliers as a part of the National Basketball Association. It was on February 6, 1970 that the Cavs, along with the Buffalo Braves and Portland Trail Blazers, were awarded expansion teams.

The rest from that point forward was …well, history. And that’s why we’re here; to bring you a new segment on cavs.com called This Week in Cavaliers History.

It was Winston Churchill that once said, “The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you can see.” Now you may be asking yourself, “What does the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom have to do with basketball and the Cavaliers?” Well to be completely honest, nothing. But in relation to this segment, the man brings up a great point. How can you be successful moving forward when you don’t know or understand where you came from?

Unfortunately, we can’t predict the future (the magic eight ball we hold only says, “Ask again later”). But, what we can do is fill in the blanks from the past.

Just about every week we’ll jump into our DeLorean and take a trip back to find out exactly what happened during the week that was in Cavaliers History. Today’s your lucky day as our first segment will include the first 12 days of February. So just buckle up and enjoy the ride.

Mike Mitchell

Mike Mitchell played in his first and only career All-Star game as the lone representative for the hometown Cavaliers. In fifteen minutes of action, Mitchell scored 14 points on 6-12 shooting from the floor while also recording four rebounds, two assists and one steal.
February 21978 - Elmore Smith becomes the third player in Cavaliers history to record over 20 points and 20 rebounds in a single game. Overall, he scored 32 points and grabbed 24 rebounds as the Wine and Gold defeated the Washington Bullets 110-93.
February 31991 - Cavs forward Larry Nance was named the Edge NBA Player of the Week for the period ending on February 2nd. While leading the Cavs to a 3-0 record during the week, Nance averaged 22.7 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.
February 41973 - The Cavaliers set the second highest attendance record of 11,044 at the Cleveland Arena as the Cavs hosted the New York Knicks. The crowd unfortunately left disappointed as the Cavs were defeated by the Knickerbockers, 114-97.
Danny FerryFebruary 51997 - Danny Ferry completes a rare four-point play in Toronto against the Raptors, marking the eighth time it happened in Cavs history.
February 61985 - John Bagley registers the second triple-double in Cavs history with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 16 assists versus the Celtics at Boston.
February 71983 - James Edwards is sent to Phoenix for Jeff Cook, swapping the 1983 first round draft choices and cash plus a third round draft choice. Cook went on to play three seasons with the Cavaliers, averaging 6.1 points and 6.2 rebounds in 129 games.
February 82000 - Cavs sign guard Earl Boykins to a 10-day contract. Boykins went on to play 25 games for the Cavaliers during the 1999-2000 season averaging 5.3 points and 1.8 assists a game. Boykins, now in his 11th season, is a native of Cleveland, OH where he played his high school basketball at Cleveland's Central Catholic High School.
February 91986 - Cavs acquire veteran guard Eddie Johnson from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for veteran guard Johnny Davis. It was the only season as a Cavalier for Johnson, averaging 9.8 points and 3.6 assists in 32 total games.
Mo WilliamsFebruary 102009 - Mo Williams was added to 2009 Eastern Conference All-Star Team as a reserve. In 17 minutes of action, Williams scored 12 points on 5-10 shooting while dishing out 5 assists.
February 112009 - In the first game after his 1st All-Star appearance, Mo Williams scored a career-high 44 points in a 109-92 win over the Suns. Williams shot 18-26 from the field, including 7-9 from three-point range and added seven assists.
February 122000 - Cavaliers guards Andre Miller (Schick Rookie Challenge) and Bob Sura (AT&T Three-Point Shootout) participated in All-Star Saturday competition. Miller led all scorers with 21 points to lead the Schick Rookie Freshman to a 92-83 overtime win. Sura scored nine points in the AT&T Shootout and finished in eighth place.