The Cavaliers’ “Miracle of Richfield” season never would’ve been possible without Nate Thurmond.
The NBA hall of famer made an immediate impact upon his arrival early in the 1975-76 season. A young team with potential was floundering without him. With him, the Cavs learned how to win, advanced to the Eastern Conference finals and came within a broken foot of perhaps winning a championship.
Thurmond, an Akron native, died Saturday after a short battle with leukemia. He was 74.
Born July 25, 1941, Thurmond grew up just blocks away from where LeBron James spent his childhood.