Cavs Insider

Can The Cleveland Cavaliers Repeat As Summer League Champs?

The Cleveland Cavaliers begin Summer League play in Las Vegas on Friday afternoon.

Cole McDaniel

Nov 19, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Emoni Bates (21) dribbles the ball in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 19, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Emoni Bates (21) dribbles the ball in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
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In 2023, the Cleveland Cavaliers went on to win the Summer League in Las Vegas. In their quest to win a championship, the young Cleveland Cavaliers roster went undefeated, taking down the Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies, Chicago Bulls and the Brooklyn Nets once again prior to facing the Houston Rockets in the championship game.

The Cavs then hammered the Rockets 99-78 to claim the championship title. In that game, Isaiah Mobley and Sam Merrill led the way offensively with 28 points from Mobley and 27 points from Merrill. Rookie Emoni Bates also added 19 points. Those three were the only players to score in double figures in that game.

Nearly one year later, the Cavs are back in Las Vegas with an excellent opportunity to defend their title. Mobley and Merrill are not on this year's roster, but Emoni Bates, Craig Porter Jr. and numerous other pieces from last year's group are back once again. In addition to the returning players, this group gets some notable new faces such as 2024 NBA Draft first-round pick Jaylon Tyson and undrafted free agent DJ Burns.

Here is the complete Cavs roster competing this month:

Jordan Ott will lead this group as head coach after recently being added to Kenny Atkinson's staff in Cleveland. He spent the last two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers and was a finalist in the head coaching search for the Charlotte Hornets recently.

With a talented roster and a quality coach, this group could most certainly go back-to-back in Las Vegas.

Cleveland gets things started on Friday against the Orlando Magic at 4 PM ET. They will then face the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday, the Golden State Warriors on July 17th and the Los Angeles Lakers on July 18th.

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Cole McDaniel
COLE MCDANIEL

Cole McDaniel is a contributor to both Browns Digest and Cavs Insider. He is the Vice President of Operations for Kee on Sports, most notably serving as lead NFL Draft analyst and the play-by-play voice for high school football. He can also be heard on numerous Baldwin Wallace University athletics broadcasts and has served as Cleveland SC's color commentator since 2019. Cole is a 2019 graduate of Baldwin Wallace where he also played soccer. 

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