Who Is Featured On The Cavaliers' New Downtown Banner?
In preparation for their home opener Friday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Cleveland Cavaliers have revealed their annual new banner across from their home arena.
Captioned "Four The Land," the mammoth-sized poster depicts Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley wearing their all-wine jerseys with gold trim.
Stating the obvious, it's a nod to the Cavs' Core Four that was primarily responsible for the team's first 50+ win season without LeBron James since the 1992-93 campaign and the first overall since 2017-18.
In addition, Cleveland clinched a playoff berth without The King for the first time since 1997-98.
Although the playoffs ended in disappointment for the organization, players and fans alike, the 2022-23 Cavs laid a foundation with a significant step toward contention in the Eastern Conference.
“I think that was the job we were tasked with when we first got here," Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said on the first day of training camp. "One thing I will say that has been continuous is before we got here — obviously they were in the Finals, going on championship runs. Very easily could we have become not a championship organization. If we knew the rebuild was coming, we were going to start from scratch, ownership and front office could have started skimping on the things that make this place a championship organization and they never did.
"Nineteen wins. Twenty-two wins. Whatever it was. We always felt first class and felt like we were being treated as if we were going to win championships. That’s a credit to Dan [Gilbert], Grant [Gilbert], Koby [Altman], Nic [Barlage], all the people that make those decisions, and I think the players see that and see there is a commitment to being as good as we possibly can. And we haven’t been told no as far as resources to help us compete, whether it’s video equipment, analytic equipment, coaching staff additions, whatever it may be. We have been told yes to get the most out of our group to get a competitive edge. I think people respect that."
Oct 25, 2023; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) controls the ball against Brooklyn Nets forward Cameron Johnson (2) during the first quarter at Barclays Center.
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
That groundwork is a big reason why the team was able to land free agents like Max Strus and Georges Niang to complement the main pieces of the roster.
"The guys we have here, they sell themselves," Bickerstaff added. "People want to be next to Darius and Donovan and Jarrett and Evan and Caris [LeVert], go on and on and on. People respect them and want to play with them. People treat each other like human beings and care for each other. So it’s an easy sell for somebody.”
