1997–98 Cleveland Cavaliers season

The 1997–98 NBA season was the 28th season of the National Basketball Association in Cleveland, Ohio.[1] In the off-season, the Cavaliers acquired All-Star forward Shawn Kemp from the Seattle SuperSonics in a three-team trade,[2] and acquired Wesley Person from the Phoenix Suns in another three-team trade.[3] After a 4–6 start to the season, the Cavs posted a ten-game winning streak between November and December,[4] and played above .500 for the remainder of the season finishing 5th in the Central Division with a 47–35 record, qualifying for the playoffs after a one-year absence.[5] The Cavaliers had the best team defensive rating in the NBA.[6]

1997–98 Cleveland Cavaliers season
Head coachMike Fratello
General managerWayne Embry
Owners
ArenaGund Arena
Results
Record47–35 (.573)
PlaceDivision: 5th (Central)
Conference: 6th (Eastern)
Playoff finishFirst round
(Lost to Pacers 1–3)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television
RadioWTAM

Kemp averaged 18.0 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, and was selected for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game, which would be his sixth and final All-Star appearance,[7] while Person averaged 14.7 points and 1.6 steals per game, and also led the league with 192 three-point field goals. In addition, last year's first round draft pick Zydrunas Ilgauskas from Lithuania, who missed the previous season with a foot injury, averaged 13.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, and won the MVP award in the Rookie Game during the All-Star Weekend,[8][9] while first round draft pick Brevin Knight provided the team with 9.0 points, 8.2 assists, and led the league with 196 total steals, averaging 2.5 per game. Top draft pick Derek Anderson contributed 11.7 points per game off the bench, and second round draft pick Cedric Henderson provided with 10.1 points per game.[10] Both Ilgauskas and Knight were selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, while Anderson and Henderson both made the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

However, the Cavaliers would lose in four games in the Eastern Conference First Round of the playoffs to the Indiana Pacers,[11] and they would not make it back to the postseason until 2006. For the season, the team slightly redesigned their uniforms, which remained in use until 1999.[12][13]

Offseason

Draft picks
Main article: 1997 NBA Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 13 Derek Anderson SG  United States Kentucky
1 16* Brevin Knight PG  United States Stanford
2 45 Cedric Henderson SF  United States Memphis

*1st round pick acquired from Phoenix in three-way Antonio McDyess deal.[14]

Roster
1997–98 Cleveland Cavaliers roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G/F 23 Anderson, Derek 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1974–07–18 Kentucky
G 2 Brooks, Scott 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1965–07–31 UC Irvine
G 6 Butler, Mitchell  6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1970–12–15 UCLA
G 27 Dumas, Tony 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1972–08–25 UKMC
F 35 Ferry, Danny 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1966–10–17 Duke
F 45 Henderson, Cedric 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1975–03–11 Memphis
C 11 Ilgauskas, Zydrunas 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 238 lb (108 kg) 1975–06–05 Lithuania
F 32 James, Henry  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1965–07–29 St. Mary's (TX)
F 4 Kemp, Shawn (C) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1969–11–26 Trinity Valley CC
G 12 Knight, Brevin 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1975–11–08 Stanford
G 1 Person, Wesley 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1971–03–28 Auburn
C 52 Potapenko, Vitaly 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 280 lb (127 kg) 1975–03–21 Wright State
C 44 Scott, Shawnelle 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1972–06–16 St. John's
G 3 Sura, Bob 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1973–03–25 Florida State
G 30 Thomas, Carl 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1969–10–03 Eastern Michigan
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster
Last transaction: February 22, 1998

Regular season

Season standings
Central Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Chicago Bulls 6220.756–37–425–1621–7
x-Indiana Pacers 5824.707432–926–1519–9
x-Charlotte Hornets 5131.6221132–919–2216–12
x-Atlanta Hawks 5032.6101229–1221–2019–9
x-Cleveland Cavaliers 4735.5731527–1420–2114–14
Detroit Pistons 3745.4512525–1612–2912–16
Milwaukee Bucks 3646.4392621–2015–269–19
Toronto Raptors 1666.195469–327–342–26
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Chicago Bulls6220.756–
2 y-Miami Heat5527.6717
3 x-Indiana Pacers5824.7074
4 x-Charlotte Hornets5131.62211
5 x-Atlanta Hawks5032.61012
6 x-Cleveland Cavaliers4735.57315
7 x-New York Knicks4339.52419
8 x-New Jersey Nets4339.52419
9 Washington Wizards4240.51220
10 Orlando Magic4141.50021
11 Detroit Pistons3745.45125
12 Boston Celtics3646.43926
12 Milwaukee Bucks3646.43926
14 Philadelphia 76ers3151.37831
15 Toronto Raptors1666.19546
z - clinched division title
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents
1997-98 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIA MIL MIN NJN NYK ORL PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA TOR UTA VAN WAS
Atlanta –2–14–01–34–02–02–02–22–01–11–32–00–21–33–10–21–22–22–23–10–21–12–01–11–14–00–22–04–0
Boston 1–2–1–21–31–31–11–12–21–11–10–42–01–10–42–21–12–22–22–23–10–21–11–10–21–13–00–22–03–2
Charlotte 0–42–1–1–32–22–02–03–11–12–03–12–01–13–13–11–12–21–33–12–11–12–01–11–11–14–01–12–02–2
Chicago 3–13–13–1–2–21–12–03–12–02–02–22–01–12–14–01–14–04–03–12–11–11–12–02–01–14–00–22–03–1
Cleveland 0–43–12–22–2–1–12–03–12–01–12–22–01–11–32–22–03–11–22–23–12–01–12–00–20–23–11–12–01–2
Dallas 0–21–10–21–11–1–3–10–21–30–41–11–30–40–20–22–20–21–10–20–20–40–40–40–42–21–10–44–01–1
Denver 0–21–10–20–20–21–3–0–21–30–40–22–20–40–20–21–30–20–20–20–20–42–21–30–40–40–20–41–31–1
Detroit 2–22–21–31–31–32–02–0–2–01–11–32–00–21–22–20–22–22–21–23–11–10–21–11–10–24–00–20–22–2
Golden State 0–21–11–10–20–23–13–10–2–1–30–21–31–30–20–20–40–21–11–10–20–41–32–21–31–30–20–41–30–2
Houston 1–11–10–20–21–14–04–01–13–1–1–14–01–30–21–11–31–11–10–21–11–31–34–02–21–32–00–43–11–1
Indiana 3–14–01–32–22–21–12–03–12–01–1–2–00–23–14–02–02–12–13–14–01–11–12–00–20–24–01–12–04–0
L.A. Clippers 0–20–20–20–20–23–12–20–23–10–40–2–0–40–20–20–41–10–20–21–10–40–43–11–30–41–11–31–30–2
L.A. Lakers 2–01–11–11–11–14–04–02–03–13–12–04–0–1–12–04–01–11–11–10–22–22–24–04–01–32–03–14–01–1
Miami 3–14–01–31–23–12–02–02–12–02–01–32–01–1–3–11–13–12–23–14–00–22–02–00–20–24–01–12–02–2
Milwaukee 1–32–21–30–42–22–02–02–22–01–10–42–00–21–3–1–10–43–12–12–20–22–02–00–21–13–10–21–11–2
Minnesota 2–01–11–11–10–22–23–12–04–03–10–24–00–41–11–1–2–01–10–22–03–11–33–11–31–31–11–34–00–2
New Jersey 2–12–22–20–41–32–02–02–22–01–11–21–11–11–34–00–2–2–23–13–11–11–12–01–10–23–10–22–01–3
New York 2–22–23–10–42–11–12–02–21–11–11–22–01–12–21–31–12–2–4–02–22–01–11–10–21–13–10–22–01–3
Orlando 2–22–21–31–32–22–02–02–11–12–01–32–01–11–31–22–01–30–4–4–00–22–00–20–21–13–10–22–03–1
Philadelphia 1–31–31–21–21–32–02–01–32–01–10–41–12–00–42–20–21–32–20–4–1–11–11–10–20–22–20–22–03–1
Phoenix 2–02–01–11–10–24–04–01–14–03–11–14–02–22–02–01–31–10–22–01–1–2–23–13–12–22–01–34–01–1
Portland 1–11–10–21–11–14–02–22–03–13–11–14–02–20–20–23–11–11–10–21–12–2–3–12–20–42–03–12–21–1
Sacramento 0–21–11–10–20–24–03–11–12–20–40–21–30–40–20–21–30–21–12–01–11–31–3–0–41–31–12–22–21–1
San Antonio 1–12–01–10–22–04–04–01–13–12–22–03–10–42–02–03–11–12–02–02–01–32–24–0–2–22–01–34–01–1
Seattle 1–11–11–11–12–02–24–02–03–13–12–04–03–12–01–13–12–01–11–12–02–24–03–12–2–2–02–24–01–1
Toronto 0–40–30–40–41–31–12–00–42–00–20–41–10–20–41–31–11–31–31–32–20–20–21–10–20–2–0–21–10–3
Utah 2–02–01–12–01–14–04–02–04–04–01–13–11–31–12–03–12–02–02–02–03–11–32–23–12–22–0–4–00–2
Vancouver 0–20–20–20–20–20–43–12–03–11–30–23–10–40–21–10–40–20–20–20–20–42–22–20–40–41–10–4–1–1
Washington 0–42–32–21–32–11–11–12–22–01–10–42–01–12–22–12–03–13–11–31–31–11–11–11–11–13–02–01–1—

Game log
1997–98 Game Log
Total: 47–35 (Home: 27–14; Road: 20–21)
October: 0-1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocation/AttendanceRecord
November: 9-5 (Home: 4–3; Road: 5–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocation/AttendanceRecord
December: 8-5 (Home: 4–3; Road: 4–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocation/AttendanceRecord
January: 9-7 (Home: 5–3; Road: 4–4)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocation/AttendanceRecord
February: 4-9 (Home: 2–3; Road: 2–6)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocation/AttendanceRecord
March: 11-4 (Home: 7–1; Road: 4–3)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocation/AttendanceRecord
April: 6-4 (Home: 5–1; Road: 1–3)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocation/AttendanceRecord

Playoffs
1998 playoff game log
First round: 1–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 23 @ Indiana L 77–106 Shawn Kemp (25) Shawn Kemp (13) Brevin Knight (5) Market Square Arena
16,644		 0–1
2 April 25 @ Indiana L 86–92 Shawn Kemp (27) Zydrunas Ilgauskas (10) Brevin Knight (7) Market Square Arena
16,617		 0–2
3 April 27 Indiana W 86–77 Shawn Kemp (31) Kemp, Knight (7) three players tied (5) Gund Arena
17,495		 1–2
4 April 30 Indiana L 74–80 Shawn Kemp (21) Shawn Kemp (12) Brevin Knight (6) Gund Arena
18,188		 1–3
1998 schedule

Player stats
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Regular season
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Shawn Kemp 80 80 34.6 44.5 25.0 72.7 9.3 2.5 1.4 1.1 18.0
Wesley Person 82 82 39.0 46.0 43.0 77.6 4.4 2.3 1.6 0.6 14.7
Zydrunas Ilgauskas 82 81 29.0 51.8 25.0 76.2 8.8 0.9 0.6 1.6 13.9
Derek Anderson 66 13 27.9 40.8 20.2 87.3 2.8 3.4 1.3 0.2 11.7
Cedric Henderson 82 71 30.8 48.0 0.0 71.6 4.0 2.0 1.2 0.5 10.1
Brevin Knight 80 76 31.0 44.1 0.0 80.1 3.2 8.2 2.5 0.2 9.0
Vitaly Potapenko 80 0 17.7 48.0 0.0 70.8 3.9 0.7 0.3 0.4 7.1
Bob Sura 46 4 20.5 37.7 31.7 56.5 2.0 3.7 1.0 0.2 5.8
Danny Ferry 69 3 15.0 39.5 33.3 80.0 1.7 0.9 0.4 0.2 4.2
Henry James 28 0 5.9 40.7 44.0 95.5 0.5 0.2 0.0 0.0 2.9
Carl Thomas 29 0 9.4 38.6 39.5 61.5 1.3 0.3 0.6 0.2 2.7
Greg Graham 6 0 9.3 58.3 0.0 100.0 0.2 1.0 0.2 0.0 2.7
Mitchell Butler 18 0 11.4 31.9 16.7 60.0 1.2 1.0 0.4 0.0 2.1
Tony Dumas 7 0 6.7 50.0 50.0 0.0 0.7 0.7 0.0 0.0 2.0
Scott Brooks 43 0 7.3 42.4 45.5 90.0 0.7 1.1 0.4 0.1 1.8
Shawnelle Scott 41 0 4.6 44.4 0.0 66.7 1.4 0.2 0.1 0.2 1.1

Playoffs
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Shawn Kemp 4 4 38.0 46.5 0.0 84.4 10.3 2.0 1.3 1.0 26.0
Zydrunas Ilgauskas 4 4 36.8 57.1 0.0 52.0 7.5 0.5 0.5 1.3 17.3
Derek Anderson 4 0 25.8 45.5 0.0 88.5 2.3 2.8 1.3 0.3 10.8
Wesley Person 4 4 34.0 37.9 36.8 75.0 2.3 2.5 0.8 0.0 8.0
Cedric Henderson 4 4 39.3 39.3 0.0 61.5 4.3 2.8 1.5 0.0 7.5
Brevin Knight 4 4 33.0 28.6 0.0 60.0 4.0 5.8 2.5 0.3 4.5
Vitaly Potapenko 4 0 17.5 40.0 0.0 50.0 2.8 0.8 0.5 0.0 4.3
Carl Thomas 1 0 11.0 0.0 0.0 66.7 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.0
Scott Brooks 1 0 8.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 2.0 0.0 0.0 2.0
Shawnelle Scott 1 0 3.0 50.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 2.0
Bob Sura 3 0 10.3 20.0 0.0 66.7 1.0 1.3 0.3 0.0 1.3
Danny Ferry 3 0 3.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Player Statistics Citation:[10]

Awards and records

Awards

All-Star

Shawn Kemp - 1998 NBA All-Star Game

Transactions

References
  1. 1997-98 Cleveland Cavaliers
  2. "PRO BASKETBALL; Sonics' Kemp Gets Wish And Is Traded, to Cavs". New York Times. September 26, 1997. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  3. "Nuggets Send McDyess to Phoenix". AP News. October 1, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  4. "N.B.A.: LAST NIGHT; Cleveland Wins It At the Line". New York Times. December 12, 1997. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  5. "1997–98 Cleveland Cavaliers Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  6. "Teams Defense". NBA.com. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  7. "1998 NBA All-Star Game: East 135, West 114". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  8. Popper, Steve (February 8, 1998). "N.B.A. ALL-STAR WEEKEND: Kids Slam and Ham, but a Grown-Up Shoots for Dough; Houston Pair Win in 2Ball". The New York Times. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  9. "1998 NBA Rising Stars: East 85, West 80". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  10. "1997–98 Cleveland Cavaliers Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  11. "N.B.A.: PLAYOFFS; Cleveland Ousted". New York Times. May 1, 1998. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  12. "Cleveland Cavaliers Uniform". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  13. "Cleveland Cavaliers Uniform". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  14. SUNS: Suns Rise Again in West
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