User:Frank Anchor/Cavs

The Cavaliers began play in 1970 as an expansion team. Their 46-year histroy has been marked by both stretches of strong play and periods of poor play. In the 1970s, under the ownership of Nick Mileti, the team won its first division title in 1976. That team was lead by Austin Carr, Bobby "Bingo" Smith, Jim Chones, Dick Snyder, Nate Thurmond, and head coach Bill Fitch, and was remembered most for the "Miracle at Richfield," in which the Cavaliers defeated the Washington Bullets 4-3. They won Game 7, 87–85, on a shot by Snyder with four seconds to go. Injuries, particularly an ankle injury to Chones, lead to this team's demise, as the Cavaliers would lose the Eastern Conference Finals to the Boston Celtics, 4-2. It is widely believed among both Cavaliers fans and players that the "Miracle" team would have won the 1976 NBA Championship had Chones stayed healthy. The remainder of the 1970s were marked by early playoff losses and eventually Fitch's resignation.

The early 1980s were marked by Ted Stepien's ownership. Stepien also oversaw the hiring and firing of a succession of coaches and was involved in making a number of poor trade and free agent signing decisions. The result of his questionable trading acumen was the loss of several of the team's first-round draft picks, which led to a rule change in the NBA, known as the "Ted Stepien Rule," prohibiting teams from trading away first-round draft picks in consecutive years. The ensuing chaos had a major effect on both the Cavaliers' on-court performance and lack of local support, losing over 50 games in three straight years. The 1981–82 and 1982-83 combined to lose 24 straight games, which at the time was the NBA's all-time longest losing streak.

George and Gordon Gund purchased the Cavaliers from Stepien in 1983. The team was in a transition as they went through nine head coaches between from 1980-1986 and only made the playoffs once in that period. During the 1986 offseason, the Cavaliers acquired Brad Daugherty, Mark Price, Ron Harper and Larry Nance. Those four players (until Harper was later traded in 1989 for the rights to Danny Ferry) formed the core of the team, under the direction of head coach Lenny Wilkens, that led the Cavaliers to eight playoff seasons in the next nine years, including three seasons of 50 or more wins. Their strongest team was the 1988-89 team, who went 57-25 en route to the 3rd seed in the East, but these Cavs lost the first round to the Chicago Bulls 3-2, thanks to a game-winning jump shot by Chicago's Michael Jordan over Craig Ehlo.

The Cavaliers entered into a period of decline from the mid-1990s through the early 2000s. The team appeared in the playoffs the next two years, but could not get past the first round. In the 1997 off-season, the team added Shawn Kemp and Wesley Person, as well as a rookie class that included Derek Anderson, Cedric Henderson, Žydrūnas Ilgauskas, and Brevin Knight. This team lost in the first round of the playoffs in 1998, but the Cavaliers would not return to the playoffs until 2006. In the early 2000s, the team added Andre Miller, Lamond Murray, Chris Mihm and Carlos Boozer, but could not make it to the playoffs. The 2002-03 season saw the Cavaliers finish 17-65, tied for the worst record in the NBA.

The Cavaliers' luck changed as they landed the number 1 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. With it, the team selected local high school phenomenon and future NBA MVP LeBron James. In 2005, the team would be sold to businessman Dan Gilbert. That year, the team also hired head coach Mike Brown, and a new general manager, former Cavaliers forward Danny Ferry. Over the next few years, the Cavaliers built a team around James and Žydrūnas Ilgauskas by adding players including Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, and Anderson Varajao. 2006-07 Cavaliers advanced to the franchise's first NBA Finals, but were swept by the more experienced San Antonio Spurs. The 2008-09 Cavaliers won a franchise record 66 games, including a franchise-best 39-2 record at home, but lost the Eastern Conference Finals in six games to the Orlando Magic]]. For the 2009-10 season, the Cavs added four-time NBA Champion and 15-time All Star center Shaquille O'Neal and forward Antawn Jamison, but were not able to get out of the Eastern conference playoffs, losing in the second round to the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics in six games.

With the Cavaliers out of the playoffs, the focus then turned to James' impending free agency. On July 8, 2010, James announced in a nationally televised one-hour special titled The Decision on ESPN that he would be signing with the Miami Heat. The repercussions of this announcement left many in the city of Cleveland infuriated and feeling betrayed. A number of LeBron James jerseys were burned, and the famous Nike "Witness" mural of James in downtown Cleveland was immediately taken down. The 2010-11 season saw the Cavaliers rebuild after James' departure. The biggest trade they made shipped Mo Williams and Demario Moon to the Los Angeles Clippers for [[Baron Davis and a 1st-round draft pick. On the court, the Cavaliers finished 19-63, the second-worst record in the NBA.  This 42-win difference from the prior season is the biggest single-season drop in NBA history.  This season also saw the Cavaliers lose 26 straight games, breaking their own record from the 1980s and tying the 1976-77 Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the longest losing streak in major American sports history.  The draft pick from the Clippers ended up becoming the 1st overall selection, which the Cavaliers used to select Duke PG Kyrie Irving.  The Cavaliers also selected Texas C Tristan Thompson with the 4th overall selection.  The Cavaliers built through the draft the nexxt few years.

In the 2014 off-season, James, now a free agent, he announced he was rejoining the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers made several moves to build a championship-contender around James, most notably acquiring PF Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves, which created what many fans and media referred to a a "Big three" with James, Love, and Irving. This trio would lead the Cavaliers to back-to-back finals appearances in 2015 and 2016, both against the Golden State Warriors. The Cavaliers would lose the 2015 Finals in six games, and win the 2016 Finals - their first title in franchise history - in seven games, coming back from a 3-1 deficit to do so.