The Cleveland Cavaliers played their first game in 1970, a new expansion team whose name came from a competition that also included “Foresters” and “Presidents” as finalists. They hired successful college coach Bill Fitch, who led them to a 15-67 record that secured the Cavs the No. 1 overall pick the next year, which they used on Austin Carr.
52 seasons later, the Cavs have had a long and tumultuous history, from low points in the 1970s and early 2000s to the very mountaintop in 2016, when another No. 1 overall pick in LeBron James brought Cleveland its first championship.