1992–93 Cleveland Cavaliers season
| 1992–93 Cleveland Cavaliers season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Lenny Wilkens |
| General manager | Wayne Embry |
| Owners | |
| Arena | Richfield Coliseum |
| Results | |
| Record | 54–28 (.659) |
| Place | Division: 2nd (Central) Conference: 3rd (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | Conference Semi-finals (lost to Bulls 0–4) |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | |
| Radio | WWWE |
The 1992–93 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 23rd season for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the National Basketball Association.[1] During the off-season, the Cavaliers signed free agent Gerald Wilkins,[2][3][4] and later on traded Steve Kerr to the Orlando Magic in exchange for a second-round draft pick, during the first month of the regular season.[5][6]
With the addition of Wilkins, the Cavaliers struggled playing below .500 in winning percentage with an 8–11 start to the regular season. However, the team soon recovered by posting a seven-game winning streak in December afterwards, and later on held a 34–19 record at the All-Star break.[7] The Cavaliers posted a 12–1 record in February, which included another seven-game winning streak, and then posted a ten-game winning streak in April, finishing in second place in the Central Division with a 54–28 record, and earning the third seed in the Eastern Conference; the team also posted a very successful 35–6 home record at the Coliseum at Richfield during the regular season.[8]
Brad Daugherty averaged 20.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, while Mark Price averaged 18.2 points and 8.0 assists per game, led the Cavaliers with 122 three-point field goals, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, and Larry Nance provided the team with 16.5 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. In addition, Craig Ehlo provided with 11.6 points and 1.3 steals per game, while Wilkins contributed 11.1 points per game, and sixth man Hot Rod Williams averaged 11.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game off the bench. Meanwhile, starting small forward Mike Sanders contributed 8.6 points per game, while also off the bench, second-year guard Terrell Brandon provided with 8.8 points and 3.7 assists per game, and Danny Ferry averaged 7.5 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.[9]
During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, Daugherty, Price and Nance were all selected for the 1993 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; it was the fifth and final All-Star appearance for Daugherty, and the third and final appearance for Nance.[10][11][12] In addition, Price also won the NBA Three-Point Shootout.[13][11][14] Price also finished tied in eighth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Daugherty finished tied in tenth place,[15][16] and head coach Lenny Wilkens finished in eighth place in Coach of the Year voting.[17][16]
In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1993 NBA playoffs, and for the second consecutive year, the Cavaliers faced off against the 6th–seeded New Jersey Nets, a team that featured Dražen Petrović, Derrick Coleman and Chris Morris. The Nets were without second-year star Kenny Anderson, who was out due to a season-ending wrist injury. The Cavaliers took a 2–1 series lead, before losing Game 4 to the Nets on the road, 96–79 at the Brendan Byrne Arena. With the series tied at 2–2, the Cavaliers won Game 5 over the Nets at home, 99–89 at the Coliseum at Richfield to win in a hard-fought five-game series.[18][19][20]
In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, and also for the second consecutive year, the team faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and 2-time defending NBA champion Chicago Bulls, who won the Central Division title, and were led by the trio of All-Star guard Michael Jordan, All-Star forward Scottie Pippen, and Horace Grant. The Cavaliers lost the first two games to the Bulls on the road at the Chicago Stadium, and then lost their next two home games. In Game 4 at the Coliseum at Richfield, Jordan hit another game-winning buzzer-beater against the Cavaliers; the Bulls won the game, 103–101, as the Cavaliers lost the series in a four-game sweep.[21][22][23] The Bulls would go on to defeat the Phoenix Suns in six games in the 1993 NBA Finals, winning their third consecutive NBA championship.[24][25][26]
The Cavaliers finished eighth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 751,465 at the Coliseum at Richfield during the regular season.[9][27] Following the season, Wilkens resigned and took a coaching job with the Atlanta Hawks,[28][29][30] while Ehlo signed as a free agent with the Hawks,[31][32][33] and Sanders retired. A forgotten highlight of the regular season was a game between the Cavaliers, and the Indiana Pacers at the Market Square Arena on January 15, 1993; after trailing to the Pacers at halftime, 64–49, the Cavaliers rallied and set a franchise record by scoring 83 points in the second half to win the game, 132–120.[34][35][36]
Until 2024, this was the last time the Cavaliers won a playoff series without future All-Star LeBron James, who was selected by the team as the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft.
Draft picks
The Cavaliers did not have any draft picks in 1992.
Roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
Regular season
Season standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Chicago Bulls | 57 | 25 | .695 | — | 31–10 | 26–15 | 19–9 |
| x-Cleveland Cavaliers | 54 | 28 | .659 | 3 | 35–6 | 19–22 | 22–6 |
| x-Charlotte Hornets | 44 | 38 | .537 | 13 | 22–19 | 22–19 | 12–16 |
| x-Atlanta Hawks | 43 | 39 | .524 | 14 | 25–16 | 18–23 | 12–16 |
| x-Indiana Pacers | 41 | 41 | .500 | 16 | 27–14 | 14–27 | 11–17 |
| Detroit Pistons | 40 | 42 | .488 | 17 | 28–13 | 12–29 | 12–16 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 28 | 54 | .341 | 29 | 18–23 | 10–31 | 10–18 |
- y – clinched division title
- x – clinched playoff spot
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | c-New York Knicks | 60 | 22 | .732 | – |
| 2 | y-Chicago Bulls | 57 | 25 | .695 | 3 |
| 3 | x-Cleveland Cavaliers | 54 | 28 | .659 | 6 |
| 4 | x-Boston Celtics | 48 | 34 | .585 | 12 |
| 5 | x-Charlotte Hornets | 44 | 38 | .537 | 16 |
| 6 | x-New Jersey Nets | 43 | 39 | .524 | 17 |
| 7 | x-Atlanta Hawks | 43 | 39 | .524 | 17 |
| 8 | x-Indiana Pacers | 41 | 41 | .500 | 19 |
| 9 | Orlando Magic | 41 | 41 | .500 | 19 |
| 10 | Detroit Pistons | 40 | 42 | .488 | 20 |
| 11 | Miami Heat | 36 | 46 | .439 | 24 |
| 12 | Milwaukee Bucks | 28 | 54 | .341 | 32 |
| 13 | Philadelphia 76ers | 26 | 56 | .317 | 36 |
| 14 | Washington Bullets | 22 | 60 | .268 | 38 |
- z – clinched division title
- y – clinched division title
- x – clinched playoff spot
Game log
| 1992–93 game log Total: 54–28 (home: 35–6; road: 19–22) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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November: 6–6 (home: 4–2; road: 2–4)
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December: 11–5 (home: 8–3; road: 3–2)
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January: 8–6 (home: 6–1; road: 2–5)
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February: 12–1 (home: 6–0; road: 6–1)
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March: 6–6 (home: 4–1; road: 2–5)
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April: 11–3 (home: 7–0; road: 4–3)
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| 1992–93 schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playoffs
| 1993 playoff game log | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Eastern Conference First Round: 3–2 (home: 2–1; road: 1–1)
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Eastern Conference Semifinals: 0–4 (home: 0–2; road: 0–2)
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| 1993 schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Player statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
Season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brad Daugherty | 71 | 71 | 37.9 | 57.1 | 50.0 | 79.5 | 10.2 | 4.4 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 20.2 |
| Mark Price | 75 | 74 | 31.7 | 48.4 | 41.6 | 94.8 | 2.7 | 8.0 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 18.2 |
| Larry Nance | 77 | 77 | 35.8 | 54.9 | 0.0 | 81.8 | 8.7 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 2.6 | 16.5 |
| Craig Ehlo | 82 | 73 | 31.2 | 49.0 | 38.1 | 71.7 | 4.9 | 3.1 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 11.6 |
| Gerald Wilkins | 80 | 35 | 26.0 | 45.3 | 27.6 | 84.0 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 11.1 |
| Hot Rod Williams | 67 | 13 | 30.7 | 47.0 | 0.0 | 71.6 | 6.2 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 11.0 |
| Terrell Brandon | 82 | 8 | 19.8 | 47.8 | 31.0 | 82.5 | 2.2 | 3.7 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 8.8 |
| Mike Sanders | 53 | 51 | 22.4 | 49.7 | 25.0 | 75.6 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 8.6 |
| Danny Ferry | 76 | 1 | 19.2 | 47.9 | 41.5 | 87.6 | 3.7 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 7.5 |
| John Battle | 41 | 0 | 12.1 | 41.5 | 16.7 | 77.8 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 5.4 |
| Bobby Phills | 31 | 0 | 4.5 | 46.3 | 40.0 | 60.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 3.0 |
| Jerome Lane | 21 | 2 | 7.1 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 25.0 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 2.8 |
| Steve Kerr | 5 | 0 | 8.2 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 2.4 |
| Jay Guidinger | 32 | 5 | 6.7 | 34.5 | 0.0 | 52.0 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.6 |
Playoffs
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brad Daugherty | 9 | 9 | 39.6 | 55.7 | 0.0 | 80.0 | 11.7 | 3.4 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 18.7 |
| Larry Nance | 9 | 9 | 36.6 | 56.5 | 0.0 | 76.7 | 8.2 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 16.1 |
| Mark Price | 9 | 9 | 32.0 | 44.3 | 30.8 | 95.8 | 2.1 | 6.1 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 13.0 |
| Craig Ehlo | 9 | 9 | 32.1 | 41.8 | 38.5 | 80.0 | 3.4 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 10.9 |
| Gerald Wilkins | 9 | 2 | 26.2 | 43.7 | 33.3 | 76.5 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 10.3 |
| Hot Rod Williams | 9 | 0 | 26.3 | 40.0 | 0.0 | 75.0 | 4.6 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 9.0 |
| Terrell Brandon | 8 | 0 | 16.5 | 43.5 | 40.0 | 100.0 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 6.4 |
| Mike Sanders | 8 | 7 | 18.1 | 41.7 | 0.0 | 60.0 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 5.8 |
| Danny Ferry | 8 | 0 | 14.8 | 38.2 | 44.4 | 90.0 | 3.1 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 4.9 |
| Bobby Phills | 2 | 0 | 4.5 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| Jay Guidinger | 4 | 0 | 3.8 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 |
| John Battle | 1 | 0 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Player statistics citation:[9]
Awards and records
References
- ^ "1992-93 Cleveland Cavaliers Roster and Stats".
- ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL; Gerald Wilkins Lands (Cheaply) in Cleveland". The New York Times. October 9, 1992. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
- ^ "Wilkins Signs with Cavaliers". Chicago Tribune. October 9, 1992. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
- ^ Brown, Clifton (October 21, 1992). "PRO BASKETBALL; Knicks Just a Memory to Cavaliers' Wilkins". The New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
- ^ "Cavs Trade Kerr to Orlando". United Press International. December 3, 1992. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
- ^ "Magic Trades Draft Pick for Cavaliers Guard Kerr". Tampa Bay Times. December 4, 1992. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
- ^ "NBA Games Played on February 18, 1993". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
- ^ "1992–93 Cleveland Cavaliers Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
- ^ a b c "1992–93 Cleveland Cavaliers Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
- ^ "Manning Gets All-Star Berth: Pro Basketball: He Is Selected for the First Time. The Lakers and Celtics Are Shut Out for the First Time Since Game Began". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. February 10, 1993. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
- ^ a b "1993 NBA All-Star Recap". NBA.com. NBA.com Staff. September 13, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ^ "1993 NBA All-Star Game: West 135, East 132 (OT)". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
- ^ Freeman, Mark (February 21, 1993). "PRO BASKETBALL; Youth Movement Gets Prime-Time Hang Time in Slam-Dunk Contest". The New York Times. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
- ^ "NBA & ABA All-Star Game Contest Winners". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
- ^ "NBA MVP". The Baltimore Sun. May 26, 1993. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- ^ a b "1992–93 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
- ^ "Coach of Year: NBA Honors Riley as League's Finest". Deseret News. May 18, 1993. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
- ^ Freeman, Mike (May 10, 1993). "PRO BASKETBALL; The Nets Never Say Die, But They're Done". The New York Times. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
- ^ "NBA PLAYOFF ROUNDUP: Reserve Brandon Fuels Cavaliers to Victory". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. May 10, 1993. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
- ^ "1993 NBA Eastern Conference First Round: Nets vs. Cavaliers". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
- ^ Berkow, Ira (May 18, 1993). "PRO BASKETBALL; Bulls Win in 4, and Three Guesses Who Cut the Net". The New York Times. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
- ^ "Same Player, Same Place, Same Result: Bulls Win: NBA Playoffs: Chicago Eliminates the Cavaliers on Michael Jordan's Game-Winning Shot at the Buzzer (Again)". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. May 18, 1993. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
- ^ "1993 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals: Cavaliers vs. Bulls". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
- ^ Araton, Harvey (June 21, 1993). "ON PRO BASKETBALL; A Basket Gives Bulls Some Poetic Justice". The New York Times. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
- ^ "Paxson 3-Pointer Finishes Off Suns: Game 6: Shot Gives Bulls a One-Point Lead, and Then Grant Blocks Johnson's Shot to Seal Third Consecutive Title, 99-98". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. June 21, 1993. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
- ^ "1993 NBA Finals: Bulls vs. Suns". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
- ^ "1992–93 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
- ^ "PRO BASKETBALL; Wilkens Bids Cavaliers Adieu". The New York Times. May 25, 1993. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ^ "Wilkens Named Head Coach of Hawks". United Press International. June 1, 1993. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
- ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL; Wilkens Chosen to Coach Hawks". The New York Times. June 2, 1993. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
- ^ "Ehlo Signs with Hawks". United Press International. July 2, 1993. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
- ^ "Sports Briefly". Deseret News. July 3, 1993. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
- ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL; Free-Agent Ehlo to Atlanta". The New York Times. July 4, 1993. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
- ^ "Cavaliers 132, Pacers 120". United Press International. January 15, 1993. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
- ^ "Jordan Helps Bulls Trash Golden St., 122-101". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. January 16, 1993. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
- ^ "Cleveland Cavaliers at Indiana Pacers Box Score, January 15, 1993". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved September 25, 2022.