Cleveland Cavaliers: Starting Five From LeBron-less Era

It wasn’t that long ago LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers. These are the top five players of that era.

LeBron James breaking down, in both joy and relief, immediately following the Cleveland Cavaliers improbably NBA Finals win is still fresh in our minds.

A Cavaliers title was delivered to us, the fans, after 52 years of agony, immediately terminating any ill-will towards the polarizing athlete. But, what about those LeBron-less years?

I attended many games during those miserable four years. It felt like a bad breakup; irrational emotions, unwarranted hate, alike. Sure, Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson were added during this time period; and developed into irreplaceable pieces of a championship team. But, what about those other guys?

I’m talking the all-time, “He played for the Cavs?” starting five for the LeBron-less Cleveland Cavaliers. The guys that were on the team because the franchise was intentionally tanking, or attempting to rebuild.

As previously mentioned, the likes of Irving, Thompson and Matthew Dellavedova are excluded from this starting five. The players on this list were the epitome of a franchise vying for any chance at a high draft pick.

God bless Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert for opening up his checkbook when the time was right, because it worked. Hindsight is always fun when something miraculous as the Cavaliers’ title happens. So, let’s look back and laugh a little.

Without further ado, here is the all-time LeBron-less era starting five.