Season Wrap-Up: ANDERSON VAREJAO

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This past season couldn’t have started any better for Anderson Varejao – the longest-tenured Cavalier on the roster. His old friend, LeBron James, was returning to Cleveland – and likely bringing playoff basketball back with him. Andy was coming off his healthiest season in years, suiting up for 65 contests in 2013-14. And if all that wasn’t enough, the team was traveling to Rio de Janeiro for a preseason meeting with the Heat.

But the Wild Thing’s season took an unfortunate (and unfortunately familiar) turn just before Christmas, and Andy was forced to watch the rest of the campaign in civvies from the sideline.

After playing the role of international ambassador during the squad’s preseason junket to Brazil, Varejao was off and running in 2014-15 – starting the first 26 games of the season and helping the new-look Cavaliers run out to a 16-10 record.

But in the third quarter of a December 23 matchup with Minnesota at The Q, the 11-year pro came down awkwardly and left the floor without being able to put weight on his right leg. An MRI revealed that Varejao had ruptured his Achilles tendon and would require season-ending surgery. And with that, Andy’s season was essentially over.

Playing alongside one of the game’s greatest rebounders in Kevin Love and a vastly-improved Tristan Thompson, Varejao’s rebounding numbers were down early in the year, but his scoring was right on pace – working seamlessly with LeBron on the offensive end as if they’d never missed a beat.

In 26 games, Andy averaged 9.8 points and 6.5 boards per contest – shooting .555 from the floor and 73 percent from the stripe. He led the team in rebounding on six occasions and in blocks five times. Varejao posted a pair of double-doubles, had four double-digit rebounding performances and scored in double-figures 12 times.

The Cavaliers were able to recover from Andy’s early-season injury, but it wasn’t easy -- dropping 10 of their next 12 games before a savvy deal by GM David Griffin produced his replacement in the pivot, acquiring Russian big man Timofey Mozgov in a trade with the Nuggets.

Mozgov started the final 45 games of the season for Cleveland and gave the Wine and Gold a different presence in the paint. But the Cavaliers certainly could have used the Wild Thing against a Warriors team that threw Cleveland a curveball when they went small.

After all these years doing his thing on the North Coast, everyone knows what Varejao is capable of. He simply needs to do it for an entire season.

Just as the team began finding their rhythm in mid-November, their starting center was also getting comfortable with his new mates.

Beginning with a 23-point, 11-rebound, two-block performance against the Spurs in a loss at The Q, Anderson notched double-figures in five straight contests – averaging 14.0 points and 9.0 boards per contest and shooting .653 from the floor over that span. In the final two games of that run – victories over Orlando and Washington – Varejao was 12-for-14 from the floor.

Varejao had his second-best game of the season against another Western Conference heavyweight – netting 18 points and seven boards, going 9-of-12 from the floor in a two-touchdown home victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Two games later, his season would come to its difficult end.

The easy answer for the lowlight of Anderson Varejao’s season – and one he, himself would probably give – is the season-ending injury suffered on December 23. But he had a couple rough games mixed in among his brief season.

Anderson has never been about numbers, so it’s hard to base a bad game simply on his scoring stats. Over a two-game span in mid-November, the Wild Thing combined for just two points, going just 1-for-5 from the field. But in the second game of that set, Andy managed to snag 10 rebounds and dish out a season-high five assists.

An honorable mention for season lowlight might have been the mustache Andy rocked for the Movember movement. It certainly was for a worthy cause, but teammates, media, fans (and probably his wife) were all relieved when he shaved it off.

If someone had told you during the Cavaliers’ preseason trip to Brazil that they were bringing the most famous player in the world, one would have thought that player was Anderson Varejao – who was swarmed by fans and media for the duration of the Wine and Gold’s trip to South America.

Along with the receptions, events, parties and practices – Varejao still found time to join his mates on separated trips to Sugarloaf Mountain – which sits 1,300 feet up and overlooks Guanabara Bay and Copacabana beach – and the world-renown Christ the Redeemer statue.

Varejao and the Cavaliers wrapped up the week in Rio with an overtime win over the Miami Heat. Varejao was the first player in the scoring column that night – canning a 17-foot jumper to send the sold-out crowd into a frenzy for their local legend.

3, 4, 5, 8, 8, 8 … Anderson Varejao’s all-time franchise rankings, respectively, in offensive rebounds (1,455), total rebounds (4,343), defensive rebounds (2,888), steals (518), blocks (392) and games played (560).

LeBron James ... on Anderson Varejao’s presence with the Cavaliers and how it factored in his decision to return …

“I was happy when I decided to make my decision that he was still part of this team. He was a huge part of our success in my years here before and he’ll be a huge part of our success going forward.”

Varejao gave the love right back. When asked about James’ return, Andy exclaimed: “I was as happy as a little kid who was waiting for this gift for a long time."

The Cavaliers finished the season as one of the hottest teams in the NBA and rumbled through the Eastern Conference playoffs before running out of healthy bodies against Golden State in the NBA Finals. They closed the campaigns with one of the strongest frontlines in the Association – and it’s one that should only get better when Anderson returns to the rotation when Training Camp tips off in late September.

Varejao has nothing left to prove on the floor. He’s already one of the best big men to ever wear the wine and gold, is a favorite teammate of the best player on the planet and brings an infectious energy to the floor that can’t be coached.

The issue for Andy – next year as it has been in years past – is staying healthy. If he can do that, the Cavaliers could very well complete what they started last spring. And Varejao can add “World Champion” to his impressive list of accomplishments in Cleveland.