The Cavaliers

The Cavaliers may refer to:

Kevin Durant

Kevin Wayne Durant (born September 29, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has played the small forward position for the Thunder, formerly the Seattle SuperSonics. Durant has won an NBA Most Valuable Player Award, four NBA scoring titles, the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, and an Olympic gold medal. He has also been selected to five All-NBA teams and seven All-Star teams.

Durant was a heavily recruited high school prospect. He attended the University of Texas for one season of college basketball, where he won numerous year-end awards and became the first ever freshman to be named Naismith College Player of the Year. In the 2007 NBA draft, he was selected second overall by the Seattle SuperSonics. After his rookie season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder. Durant helped lead Oklahoma City to the 2012 NBA Finals, losing to the Miami Heat in five games. In 2012, he starred in his first feature film, Thunderstruck.

Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Andrew Irving (born March 23, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Irving was born in Melbourne, Australia, but grew up in West Orange, New Jersey. He played collegiately at Duke University before being selected with the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Cavaliers. Since being in the NBA, Irving has achieved a number of accolades including being the 2011–12 NBA Rookie of the Year and the 2014 NBA All-Star game MVP.

Early life

Irving was born on March 23, 1992 in Melbourne, Australia. He is the son of Drederick and Elizabeth Irving, and the step-son of Shetellia Irving. He has an older sister, Asia, and a younger sister, London. His father, Drederick, played college basketball at Boston University alongside Shawn Teague and under coach Rick Pitino. After completing his college career, Irving's father moved to Australia to play professionally for the Bulleen Boomers. Irving lived in the Melbourne suburb of Kew before relocating to the United States when he was two years old. He has dual citizenship in the United States and Australia. Irving's mother, Elizabeth, died from an illness when he was four, so Drederick raised him with the help of Irving's aunts.

LeBron James

LeBron Raymone James (/ləˈbrɒn/; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has started at the small forward and power forward positions. James has won two NBA championships (2012, 2013), four NBA Most Valuable Player Awards (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013), two NBA Finals MVP Awards (2012, 2013), two Olympic gold medals (2008, 2012), an NBA scoring title (2008), and the NBA Rookie of the Year Award (2004). He has also been selected to 12 NBA All-Star teams, 11 All-NBA teams, and six All-Defensive teams, and is the Cavaliers' all-time leading scorer.

James played high school basketball at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, where he was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar. After graduating, he was selected with the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft by the Cavaliers. James led Cleveland to the franchise's first Finals appearance in 2007, losing to the San Antonio Spurs. In 2010, he left the Cavaliers for the Miami Heat in a highly publicized ESPN special titled The Decision. James played four seasons for the Heat, reaching the Finals all four years and winning back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013. In 2013, he led Miami on a 27-game winning streak, the third longest in league history. Following his final season with the Heat, James opted out of his contract and re-joined the Cavaliers. Behind his leadership, Cleveland advanced to the Finals before losing to the Golden State Warriors.

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers, also known as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Cavaliers are the only remaining charter member of the division (all the other Central Division teams joined later from the now-defunct Midwest Division).

The team began play in the league in 1970 as an expansion team. Home games are played at Quicken Loans Arena, which the team shares with the Cleveland Gladiators of the Arena Football League, and the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League. The Cavaliers have featured many NBA stars during their history, including All-Stars Austin Carr, Brad Daugherty, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Mark Price, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Mo Williams and Kevin Love. Past NBA greats such as Nate Thurmond, Lenny Wilkens, Walt "Clyde" Frazier, and Shaquille O'Neal have also played in Cleveland (albeit near the end of their careers).