2003–04 Cleveland Cavaliers season
Encyclopedia
In the years following their 1998 first-round playoff loss to the Indiana Pacers
, the Cavaliers dropped to the bottom of the league and became a perennial entrant in the annual NBA Draft Lottery
. The franchise's freefall bottomed out during the 2002-03
season, as the Cavs fell to a 17-65 record, tied with the Denver Nuggets
for the league's worst.
However, the fortunes of the franchise shifted dramatically in May 2003, when the Cavs won the first overall pick in the draft lottery. The Cavaliers selected high school phenomenon LeBron James
from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in nearby Akron
, providing the team with a centerpiece player around which to build.
The Cavs revised their look for the 2003-04 season, introducing a new logo and a variation on the wine and gold color scheme used by the club during the 1970s. Dark blue was also added as a trim color.
* Statistics include only games with the Cavaliers
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...
, the Cavaliers dropped to the bottom of the league and became a perennial entrant in the annual NBA Draft Lottery
NBA Draft Lottery
The NBA Draft Lottery is an annual event held by the National Basketball Association in which the teams who had missed the playoffs in the previous season, or teams who hold the draft rights of another team that missed the playoffs in the previous season, participate in a lottery process to...
. The franchise's freefall bottomed out during the 2002-03
2002-03 NBA season
The 2002–03 NBA season was the 57th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs beating the New Jersey Nets 4-2 in the 2003 NBA Finals.-Notable occurrences:...
season, as the Cavs fell to a 17-65 record, tied with the Denver Nuggets
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Basketball Association . They were founded as the Denver Rockets in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association, and became one of that league's more successful teams...
for the league's worst.
However, the fortunes of the franchise shifted dramatically in May 2003, when the Cavs won the first overall pick in the draft lottery. The Cavaliers selected high school phenomenon LeBron James
LeBron James
LeBron Raymone James is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association . Nicknamed "King James", he was a three-time "Mr. Basketball" of Ohio in high school, and was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while a...
from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in nearby Akron
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, providing the team with a centerpiece player around which to build.
The Cavs revised their look for the 2003-04 season, introducing a new logo and a variation on the wine and gold color scheme used by the club during the 1970s. Dark blue was also added as a trim color.
Offseason
Despite James being with Cleveland for the first season, Cleveland still did not make the playoffs, still needing improvement.Draft picks
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | LeBron James LeBron James LeBron Raymone James is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association . Nicknamed "King James", he was a three-time "Mr. Basketball" of Ohio in high school, and was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while a... |
Forward |  United States USA |
St. Vincent-St.Mary St. Vincent - St. Mary High School St. Vincent – St. Mary High School is a private, coed, Catholic high school located in Akron, Ohio. The school is commonly abbreviated SVSM, St. V-M, ASVSM, or STVM. However, the school's official abbreviation is STVM... (Akron, OH Akron, Ohio Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan... ) |
| 2 | 31 | Jason Kapono Jason Kapono Jason Alan Kapono is an American professional basketball player who is a free agent. Drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft, Kapono later also played for the Charlotte Bobcats, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, and Philadelphia 76ers... |
Forward | United States USA |
UCLA UCLA Bruins men's basketball The UCLA Bruins men's basketball program, established in 1920, owns a record 11 Division I NCAA championships. UCLA teams coached by John Wooden won 10 national titles in 12 seasons from 1964 to 1975, including 7 straight from 1967 to 1973. UCLA went undefeated a record 4 times, in 1964, 1967,... |
Regular season
- Facing the Sacramento KingsSacramento KingsThe Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are currently members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
in his first NBA game, LeBron James recorded 25 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals and shootingField goal percentageField goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Three-point field goals are included in this percentage. Instead of using scales of 0 to 100%, the scale .000 to 1.000 is commonly used. A higher field goal percentage denotes...
60% from the field. After recording a season-high 41 points against the New Jersey NetsNew Jersey NetsThe New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
, James became the youngest player in league history to score 40 points in a game. He averaged 20.9 points, 5.9 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game for the season, and was named Rookie of the YearNBA Rookie of the Year AwardThe National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association award given since the 1952–53 NBA season, to the top rookie of the regular season. The winner receives the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy, which is named in honor of the Philadelphia Warriors head...
; becoming the first Cavalier and youngest NBA player to ever receive the award. He joined Oscar RobertsonOscar RobertsonOscar Palmer Robertson , nicknamed "The Big O", is a former American NBA player with the Cincinnati Royals and the Milwaukee Bucks...
and Michael JordanMichael JordanMichael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
as the only three players in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game in their rookie season. The Cavaliers improved by 18 wins and concluded the regular season with a 35–47 record, but failed to make the playoffs2004 NBA PlayoffsThe 2004 NBA Playoffs were the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2003–04 season. Consisting of 16 teams in two conferences, the playoffs involved about two months of play. The playoffs were conducted in seven-game series, with the team with the better record holding home court...
.
Regular season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 1 | 19.5 | .427 | .125 | .768 | 4.8 | .7 | .36 | .94 | 5.4 | |
| 75 | 75 | 34.6 | .523 | .167 | .768 | 11.4 | 2.0 | .99 | .73 | 15.5 | |
| 34 | 16 | 16.5 | .465 | .388 | .643 | 2.3 | 1.1 | .38 | .15 | 5.3 | |
| 4 | 2 | 23.0 | .304 | .000 | .500 | 1.8 | 4.8 | 1.00 | .50 | 3.8 | |
| 56 | 3 | 13.0 | .388 | .000 | .600 | 3.6 | .6 | .46 | .91 | 2.3 | |
| 81 | 81 | 31.3 | .483 | .286 | .746 | 8.1 | 1.3 | .48 | 2.48 | 15.3 | |
| 79 | 79 | 39.5 | .417 | .290 | .754 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 1.65 | .73 | 20.9 | |
| 41 | 3 | 10.4 | .403 | .477 | .833 | 1.3 | .3 | .32 | .05 | 3.5 | |
| 2 | 0 | 6.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 2.0 | .0 | .00 | .00 | .0 | |
| 31 | 31 | 35.4 | .417 | .388 | .836 | 2.6 | 7.5 | 1.16 | .13 | 11.7 | |
| 22 | 4 | 18.0 | .451 | .000 | .800 | 3.0 | .8 | .18 | .05 | 7.7 | |
| 64 | 25 | 19.5 | .391 | .105 | .783 | 2.4 | 1.1 | .39 | .30 | 4.0 | |
| 82 | 7 | 17.1 | .370 | .444 | .835 | 2.1 | 2.9 | .62 | .10 | 4.2 | |
| 44 | 4 | 16.1 | .366 | .360 | .681 | 1.3 | 1.2 | .59 | .16 | 6.5 | |
| 50 | 36 | 27.5 | .366 | .253 | .787 | 3.8 | 1.9 | .96 | .16 | 9.4 |
Award winners
- LeBron JamesLeBron JamesLeBron Raymone James is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association . Nicknamed "King James", he was a three-time "Mr. Basketball" of Ohio in high school, and was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while a...
, Forward, Rookie of the Year - LeBron JamesLeBron JamesLeBron Raymone James is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association . Nicknamed "King James", he was a three-time "Mr. Basketball" of Ohio in high school, and was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while a...
, Forward, NBA All-Rookie First Team