Moments of the Decade

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A lot can happen in 10 years. Players came and went, a championship was won and teams were retooled for the future. However, there is one thing has never changed here in Cleveland: the loyalty of the fans.

This was apparent in early 2010 when the Wine & Gold re-signed future legend Zydrunas Ilgauskas on March 23 for the rest of the 2009-10 campaign following an in-season trade where Antawn Jamison was acquired. In his first home game back in The Land, fans honored the 7-foot-3 Lithuanian with ovations and placards inscribed with the famous mononym, "Z". Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse - then named Quicken Loans Arena - was also renamed "The Z" in honor of the big man.

Nearly four years later, Big Z was honored once again, becoming the seventh player in franchise history to have their jersey number retired and draped from the FieldHouse rafters.

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Following a tough season in 2010-11, the Cavaliers were in need of a little bit of luck. A spark came at the 2011 NBA Draft Lottery when it was announced that the Wine & Gold would receive the first overall pick in the Draft later that summer.

Cleveland nabbing the first pick was big news, but one of the most iconic moments of the night was when Nick Gilbert - the Cavaliers Draft Lottery representative and son of Chairman Dan Gilbert - was photographed pumping his fist in celebration. In that moment, Nick represented how the entire Wine & Gold fanbase felt that night and summed it up in an interview with “What’s Not to Like?!?”

The next month, Cleveland would go on to select a pair of future stars in Kyrie Irving (No. 1 overall) and Tristan Thompson (No. 4 overall). The rest, they say, is history...

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Irving would go on to live up to the hype after being selected No. 1 overall in 2011. Not only did he earn All-Rookie First Team honors in his 2011-12 debut, but the former Duke Blue Devil also took home one of the most coveted awards in the league - the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

The picture above was taken at Cleveland Clinic Courts in Independence, Ohio on May 15 after Irving received the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy. Alongside Irving is Cavaliers Chairman Dan Gilbert whose son was present (see above) at the 2011 NBA Draft Lottery where the Cavs were awarded the pick that Irving was selected with.

Kyrie's success in Cleveland didn't stop in 2012. He would eventually go on to help earn the Cavaliers their first-ever NBA Championship in 2016, knocking down arguably the most clutch shot in franchise history.

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In the NBA, the process of building a contender isn't a simple task. And while the Cavaliers weren't at the top of the standings in 2013, they were making remarkable strides toward reaching their end goal. Need proof? Just check out the photo above.

In that image, four Cavaliers young guns (L-R: Kyrie Irving #2, Tyler Zeller #40, Tristan Thompson #13, and Dion Waiters #3) pose at the 2013 BBVA Rising Stars Challenge alongside former-Cavs athletic trainer Max Benton (far left) and current trainer Steve Spiro (far right).

With four players nominated to the Rising Stars Challenge that year, Cleveland put the rest of the league on notice. It wouldn't be long before things truly came together in Northeast Ohio.

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Ask anyone from Cleveland and they'll tell you exactly where they were on July 11, 2014. Via a written essay published by Sports Illustrated titled "I'm Coming Home," LeBron James - who spent seven seasons in Cleveland from 2003-2010 - announced that he was returning to Ohio to once again play for his hometown Cavaliers.

Following LBJ's announcement, the Cavaliers would go on to acquire Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves on August 23, 2014. The team - led by James, Love and Irving - and would begin the journey back to the NBA Finals during the 2014-15 campaign.

A simple essay was enough to rally Clevelanders around their basketball team and help carry them down an exhilarating stretch that spanned four appearances in the NBA Finals.

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By Spring 2015, the Cavaliers were rolling through the NBA Playoffs. However, a few setbacks including injuries to Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, were tough obstacles to overcome. A ‘Next Man Up’ mentality was brought on by the squad to fill the void left by the two All-Stars during the most critical time of the year.

A gritty Aussie named Matthew Dellavedova, or "Delly" as he's known in The Land, was next to step up on the biggest stage. After gaining a cult-like following earlier in the postseason, Delly had a breakout performance in Game 3 of the 2015 NBA Finals. In that matchup, Delly scored 20 points while making some incredible defensive plays to help gives the Cavs crucial possessions that ultimately contributed to the win.

Cleveland went on to win that game, 96-91, and the Legend of Delly was born.

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The Shot. The Block. The Stop. There's almost *too* many iconic images to choose from the Cavs' 2016 NBA Championship.

While those plays and the photographers that captured each moment deserve recognition, the image of the team disembarking the team plane with the Larry O'Brien is one that holds special meaning as it was the first time Cavs fans got to see their team hoist the hardware on home soil since coming back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Golden State Warriors.

2016 was a special year in Cleveland sports history, but it was a special moment in the lives of all Clevelanders who came together that day in June to celebrate a common goal.

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Another year, another Eastern Conference Championship and another trip to the NBA Finals.

Cleveland was on top of the basketball world, adding yet another piece of hardware to their growing collection. The above photo captured the feel of being one of the top teams in the Association that year in.

Of course, this wasn't Cleveland's last ECF title. The following year, the squad would go on to win their fourth-straight Conference trophy - their fifth overall in team history.

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Following the Cavs fourth-straight trip to the NBA Finals, Cleveland would enter the 2018-19 Season with a retooled roster. While the team struggled to find the same success as the previous four campaigns, the Wine & Gold continued to show growth throughout the season.

In one game specifically, the Cavs showed off their willingness to fight to the end when Larry Nance Jr. tipped in a shot to beat the buzzer against Indiana that snapped a two-game skein.

The excitement in the faces of Nance Jr. and Cedi Osman was one of the many bright spots that came out of 2018-19's growing pains.

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As we enter the midway point of the 2019-20 Season, there has been a lot of new and exciting things happening in downtown Cleveland. The Cavaliers brought in a new head coach in John Beilein, drafted three young players in the June Draft, re-opened a state-of-the-art Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in September and tipped off their 50th Season celebration in October.

Kevin Love's selfie - taken the night before the grand re-opening - perfectly encapsulated the organization's exciting new era. Pictured is Love, Matthew Dellavedova, Jordan Clarkson (now with the Utah Jazz), Dylan Windler, Coach Beilein, General Manager Koby Altman, Cavs CEO Len Komorowski and President of Business Operations Nic Barlage along with Wine & Gold United members and more.

It was an incredible moment to tip off an exciting new era in Cleveland basketball.