Being the senior member of a professional sports franchise is an admirable thing.
Sports is a fluid industry. Franchises change, coaches change, regimes change.
The longest-tenured Cleveland Brown is All-Pro left guard Joel Bitonio, who’s played 113 career games with the Browns after being selected with the 35th overall pick in the 2014 Draft.
As the Guardians begin their 2023 season, their dean is, of course, Jose Ramirez, who’s played in 1,144 career games in Cleveland after being signed as an amateur free agent back in November 2009. His first appearance as a pro was on September 1, 2013 – entering the game as a pinch-runner and scoring on a game-winning grand slam by Mike Aviles.
With the mid-season departure of Kevin Love, the young Cavalier’s senior statesman heading into their first Playoff appearance in five years is none other than Cedi Osman – the Young Cedi. (“I’m ‘the Old Cedi’ now,” he joked.)
On a team of affable, good-natured players, Cedi Osman – who’ll turn the ripe old age of 28 on the day before Cleveland wraps up the regular season on Easter Sunday against Charlotte – might be tops in each category.
Sunday’s contest signifies Cedi’s 6th full season with the Wine & Gold – and the only one who connects back to the team’s last Playoff appearance back in 2018, which sometimes seems like a lifetime ago.
“This (experience) is way different, it’s two different teams,” said Cedi, looking back. “With that 2018 team, we were kind of up and down during the year and then we ramped it up towards the end. And obviously, we went to the NBA Finals. But this team is much different. Very young, very talented. We have a long way to go to reach what that team did, but I think eventually we can get there.”
The native Macedonian – originally drafted by Minnesota with the 31st overall pick in a package for Tyus Jones – was just a rookie the last time they reached Playoffs, seeing action in 61 contests with 12 starts. Those Cavaliers – making their fourth straight Finals run – beat the Pacers in seven, swept the Raptors, beat the Celtics in seven, and got swept by the Warriors.
You know the story from there. The Wine and Gold won 19 games in each of the next two years and 22 more in a season of empty arenas the following season. The sun finally started breaking through last year, with the Cavs winning 44 games and reaching the Play-In tournament.
As a guy who’s seen a lot of ups and down in his six years, Cedi might appreciate the success a little more than the team’s youngster.
“It’s tough to enjoy things when you’re losing games,” explained Osman. “That’s why you’re playing, but you’re still losing and it’s tough to enjoy the game. But right now, we’re at the point where we have 50 wins – and we probably could have had even more. And I think it just shows that we’re a great team. How many teams have 50 wins? We’re one of them. So, I think we’ve done great.”
On Thursday night in Orlando, the Cavaliers won their 51st game of the season – the first time they’ve done so since 2016-17 – and Cedi Osman, getting his first start of the season, had a great night, finishing with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc to go with five boards and four assists.
Now, he and his mates are one game away from getting back to the postseason.
“Obviously, it’s much, much different than the last couple years I’ve had here,” said Osman, following Thursday morning’s shootaround. “Because I’ve seen the highest point and, obviously, the lowest point. So, right now we’re climbing back to the highest point. And I’m just happy to be a part of this team. I’m just glad that everything worked out well for us, rebuilding and getting to this point. It’s something that we have to be proud of.”
Sunday’s contest at the FieldHouse will be Cedi’s 404th game as a Cavalier. His fourth three-pointer on Thursday was No. 628, good for 5th on the franchise’s all-time list – (still 95 away from Kyrie to reach the top 4).
The next-most-tenured Cavalier behind Osman on the current roster is 23-year-old Darius Garland, who played the 250th game of his four-year career on Tuesday night.
What’s it been like being the squad’s elder statesman?
“I really do enjoy being around the guys,” said the 6th-year vet. “We have a great locker room; we have great relationships. We just really celebrate each other’s success, and I think that’s what makes this team perfect. I think we have a long way to go, but up until now what we’ve achieved is really awesome.”
This season, Cedi – who tallied double-figures in his first four games off the bench – has piled up 29 such outings overall, 30 if you count Thursday’s contest in Orlando. He’s topped the 20-point plateau on six occasions.
And the Cavs have been good with Cedi on the floor. Among all NBA reserves, he ranks 3rd overall in +/- with a +219 number.
“I think for me, whenever I step on the court, I try to do my best,” said Cedi, looking back on his sixth season. “So, whatever coaches were asking from me, I hope I was doing it successfully. Obviously, there were games that I didn’t perform as well, but I think it’s normal to have ups and downs.”
It hasn’t been all good news this year for Osman, Turkey’s UNICEF Ambassador and husband of Turkish movie star Ebru Şahin. The veteran swingman played with a heavy heart after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Tukey and Syria on February 7, killing nearly 11,000 people.
“It’s kind of getting better, but there’s still a lot of damage,” said Osman. "But there’s work going on. They’re rebuilding again, but obviously it’s going to take some time. There are a lot of miracles, right? But what happened is really sad. Because nobody is ready for that. And everyone was caught off-guard, especially at night, which made it worse.
“So that’s why I’m hoping for a speedy recovery for everybody and that they can get through this tough time as quickly as they can.”
About a week earlier, Cedi had easily his finest night of the season – maybe of his career – in late-January blowout of the Clippers.
On Turkish Heritage Night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, he led everyone with 29 points, matching his career-high, going 11-for-13 from the floor, including a flawless 7-for-7 from long-distance in 22 thrilling minutes off the bench.
In doing so, he became just the third player in franchise history to finish a game a perfect 7-7 or better from three, joining Kyrie in 2015 and Mo Williams ‘09. He’s the first Cavaliers reserve to ever do so.
Now Cedi, like his teammates, must now prepare for the rarified air of the NBA’s second season – set to tip off next weekend against the Knicks. If the Cavaliers hope to keep climbing, they’re going to need a strong effort from their bench. And that includes the Old Young Cedi.
“I think I’ve improved this year in terms of consistency. Whenever I played, whenever I was on the floor, I did my best. So, I would say it was a good year for me. But now it’s time to ramp things up even more.”