1970–71 Cleveland Cavaliers season

The 1970–71 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the inaugural season of NBA basketball in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavaliers finished the season with a 15–67 record in their first season, finishing last in the Central Division and Eastern Conference. John Johnson was named an All-Star, the first in franchise history.

1970–71 Cleveland Cavaliers season
Head coachBill Fitch
ArenaCleveland Arena
Results
Record15–67 (.183)
PlaceDivision: 4th (Central)
Conference: 8th (Eastern)
Playoff finishDid Not Qualify
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWEWS-TV
RadioWERE

Key Dates:

Offseason

Expansion Draft
  • As an expansion (first year) franchise, the Cavaliers chose 11 players from other NBA teams in the 'expansion draft.'
Player Position Team
Butch Beard Guard Atlanta Hawks
Len Chappell Center Milwaukee Bucks
Johnny Egan Guard L.A. Lakers
Bobby Lewis Guard San Francisco Warriors
McCoy McLemore Center Detroit Pistons
Don Ohl Guard Atlanta Hawks
Walt Wesley Center Chicago Bulls
Loy Petersen Guard Chicago Bulls
Luther Rackley Center Cincinnati Royals
Bingo Smith Guard San Diego Rockets
John Warren Guard New York Knickerbockers

[1]

Free agents

Trades

Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 7 John Johnson Forward  United States Iowa
2 26 Dave Sorenson Forward  United States Ohio State
3 41 Surry Oliver Guard  United States Stephen F. Austin
4 60 Glen Vidnovic Forward  United States Iowa
5 75 Wayne Sokolowski Forward  United States Ashland
6 94 Joe Cooke Guard  United States Indiana
7 109 Narvis Anderson Forward  United States Stephen F. Austin
8 128 Walt Robertson Forward  United States Loyola University Chicago
9 143 Tom Lagodich Guard  United States Kent State
10 162 Ken Johnson Forward  United States Indiana

Roster
Roster listing
1970–71 Cleveland Cavaliers roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
SG 10 Cooke, Joe 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Aug. 14, 1948 Indiana
PF 23 Freeman, Gary 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jul. 25, 1948 Oregon State
SF 32 Johnson, John 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Oct. 18, 1947 Iowa
SG 5 Lewis, Bobby 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Mar. 20, 1945 North Carolina
PF 30 Mikan, Larry 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Apr. 8, 1948 Minnesota
C 45 Rackley, Luther 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jun. 11, 1946 Xavier
PF 15 Sorenson, Dave 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jul. 8, 1948 Ohio State
G/F 7 Smith, Bingo 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Feb. 26, 1946 Tulsa
C 40 Suiter, Gary 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jan. 18, 1945 Midwestern State
SG 11 Warren, John 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jul. 7, 1947 St. John's
PG 17 Washington, Bobby 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jul. 11, 1947 Eastern Kentucky
C 44 Wesley, Walt 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jan. 25, 1945 Kansas
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Jim Lessig
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

Season standings
Central Division W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
y-Baltimore Bullets 4240.512–24–1316–252–210–6
x-Atlanta Hawks 3646.439621–2014–261–09–7
Cincinnati Royals 3349.402917–1611–285–516–6
Cleveland Cavaliers 1567.1832711–302–372–01–13
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT
1 z-New York Knicks5230.634
2 y-Baltimore Bullets4240.512
3 x-Philadelphia 76ers4735.573
4 x-Atlanta Hawks3646.439
5 Boston Celtics4438.537
6 Cincinnati Royals3349.402
7 Buffalo Braves2260.268
8 Cleveland Cavaliers1567.183


Record vs. opponents
1970–71 NBA Records
Team ATL BAL BOS BUF CHI CIN CLE DET LAL MIL NYK PHI PHO POR SDR SFW SEA
Atlanta —3–32–43–11–42–44–00–53–21–43–34–21–42–22–32–33–2
Baltimore 3–3—3–33–12–33–34–02–32–31–42–43–33–22–24–12–33–2
Boston 4–23–3—4–04–14–23–12–33–20–50–64–22–32–23–23–23–2
Buffalo 1–31–30–4—0–40–45–71–52–20–42–20–41–36–61–31–31–3
Chicago 4–13–21–44–0—4–04–03–32–41–53–23–23–33–16–04–23–2
Cincinnati 4–23–32–44–00–4—5–11–41–41–42–41–51–44–01–32–31–4
Cleveland 0–40–41–37–50–41–5—2–20–40–40–41–30–42–100–41–30–4
Detroit 5–03–23–25–13–34–12–2—2–31–52–32–32–43–14–21–43–1
Los Angeles 2–33–22–32–24–24–14–03–2—1–43–23–22–44–03–34–24–2
Milwaukee 4–14–15–04–05–14–14–05–14–1—1–44–14–23–14–16–05–1
New York 3–34–26–02–22–34–24–03–22–34–1—2–44–13–14–13–22–3
Philadelphia 2–43–32–44–02–35–13–13–22–31–44–2—3–24–03–23–23–2
Phoenix 4–12–33–23–13–34–14–04–24–22–41–42–3—4–02–43–23–2
Portland 2–22–22–26–61–30–410–21–30–41–31–30–40–4—0–41–32–4
San Diego 3–21–42–33–10–63–14–02–43–31–41–42–34–24–0—2–45–1
San Francisco 3–23–22–33–12–43–23–14–12–40–62–32–32–33–14–2—3–3
Seattle 2–32–32–33–12–34–14–01–32–41–53–22–32–34–21–53–3—

Game log

October

Record: 0–9 ; Home: 0–2 ; Road: 0–7

# Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Record
1October 14ABuffalo BravesL92–1070–1
2October 16APortland Trail BlazersL112–1150–2
3October 17ASan Francisco WarriorsL108–1280–3at Oakland, California
4October 20APortland Trail BlazersL98–1200–4
5October 22ASan Diego RocketsL110–1400–5
6October 23APhoenix SunsL104–1080–6
7October 25ALos Angeles LakersL96–1230–7
8October 28HSan Diego RocketsL99–1100–8
9October 30HCincinnati RoyalsL110–1250–9

November

Record: 1–17 ; Home: 0–8 ; Road: 1–9

# Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Record
10November 1HAtlanta HawksL107–1300–10
11November 2APhiladelphia 76ersL87–1410–11
12November 4HMilwaukee BucksL108–1100–12
13November 7ABuffalo BravesL91–1030–13
14November 8HSeattle SuperSonicsL105–1110–14
15November 10ASan Francisco WarriorsL74–1090–15
16November 12APortland Trail BlazersW105–1031–15
17November 13ASeattle SuperSonicsL91–1111–16
18November 14APortland Trail BlazersL110–1251–17
19November 16ABaltimore BulletsL86–981–18
20November 18HBaltimore BulletsL98–1111–19
21November 20ABoston CelticsL112–1161–20
22November 21ANew York KnicksL94–1021–21
23November 22HPhoenix SunsL99–1141–22
24November 25HSan Francisco WarriorsL99–1081–23
25November 27HPortland Trail BlazersL102–1111–24
26November 28ACincinnati RoyalsL86–1051–25
27November 29HDetroit PistonsL99–1201–26

December

Record: 4–13 ; Home: 4–6 ; Road: 0–7

# Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Record
28December 4HBoston CelticsL107–1181–27
29December 6HBuffalo BravesW108–1062–27
30December 9HPortland Trail BlazersL102–1092–28
31December 11AMilwaukee BucksL92–1342–29
32December 12ACincinnati RoyalsL95–1142–30
33December 13HSan Diego RocketsL95–1182–31
34December 15ANew York KnicksL92–1102–32
35December 16HNew York KnicksL84–1082–33
36December 18ABuffalo BravesL94–1132–34
37December 19HBuffalo BravesW123–1123–34
38December 20HChicago BullsL103–1163–35
39December 22AChicago BullsL80–1213–36
40December 25ACincinnati RoyalsL100–1173–37
41December 26HBuffalo BravesW120–1074–37
42December 27HPhiladelphia 76ersW114–1015–37
43December 29HMilwaukee BucksL97–1195–38
44December 31AAtlanta HawksL85–1195–39

January

Record: 5–9 ; Home: 4–4 ; Road: 0–5 ; Neutral: 1–0:

# Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Record
45January 1HBaltimore BulletsL105–1285–40
46January 2AMilwaukee BucksL73–1185–41
47January 4HPortland Trail BlazersL106–1195–42
48January 6HNew York KnicksL94–1275–43
49January 7HLos Angeles LakersL105–1105–44
50January 9HBuffalo BravesW111–896–44
51January 14ADetroit PistonsL106–1086–45
52January 16APhiladelphia 76ersL96–1156–46
53January 19NBuffalo BravesW111–797–46at Syracuse, New York
54January 24ABoston CelticsL110–1217–47
55January 25HBoston CelticsW117–1168–47
56January 27HPortland Trail BlazersW118–1049–47
57January 29AAtlanta HawksL111–1199–48
58January 31HBuffalo BravesW117–10810–48

February

Record: 2–12 ; Home: 1–5 ; Road: 0–7 ; Neutral: 1–0

# Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Record
59February 2NBuffalo BravesW101–9111–48at Rochester, New York
60February 3HSeattle SuperSonicsL95–9811–49
61February 5ASan Diego RocketsL105–11611–50
62February 6APhoenix SunsL91–11911–51
63February 7APortland Trail BlazersL103–11211–52
64February 9HLos Angeles LakersL111–11611–53
65February 12HPhoenix SunsL105–11411–54
66February 13HBuffalo BravesL106–11111–55
67February 14AChicago BullsL83–10811–56
68February 17HChicago BullsL104–10911–57
69February 19HCincinnati RoyalsW125–10912–57
70February 21APortland Trail BlazersL105–12312–58
71February 24ASeattle SuperSonicsL101–12312–59
72February 28ALos Angeles LakersL90–10712–60

March

Record: 3–7 ; Home: 2–5 ; Road: 1–2

# Date H/A/N Opponent W/L Score Record
73March 6ABuffalo BravesL109–12012–61
74March 7ADetroit PistonsW104–10013–61
75March 9HPhiladelphia 76ersL113–12413–62
76March 12HAtlanta HawksL107–11913–63
77March 14HCincinnati RoyalsL103–11513–64
78March 16HSan Francisco WarriorsW108–10314–64
79March 17ABaltimore BulletsL109–11314–65
80March 20HDetroit PistonsW114–10315–65
81March 21HPortland Trail BlazersL110–11315–66
82March 23HPortland Trail BlazersL112–11415–67
1970–71 game log
Total: 15–67 (Home: 11–30; Road: 2–37, Neutral: 2–0)
October: 0–9 (Home: 0–2; Road: 0–7)
November : 1–17 (Home: 0–8; Road: 1–9)
December : 4–13 (Home: 4–6; Road: 0–7)
January : 5–9 (Home: 4–4; Road: 1–5)
February : 2–12 (Home: 1–5; Road: 1–7)
March : 3–7 (Home: 2–5; Road: 1–2)
1970–71 schedule

References
  1. BOBCATS: All-Time Expansion Draft Results Archived 2008-01-16 at the Wayback Machine
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