The Cleveland Cavaliers survived the Orlando Magic on Sunday by winning Game 7 at home to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals. In doing so, they accomplished something the franchise has not managed to do in over three decades.
The seven-game win over Orlando marked the Cavaliers’ first playoff series win since 2018. More remarkably, it is the first time the franchise has won a playoff series without LeBron James since 1993, when they beat the New Jersey Nets 3-2 in what was then a best-of-five.
1993: The last time the Cleveland Cavaliers won a playoff series without LeBron James.
Fun stat from @davidkinderii. pic.twitter.com/lnQYGCTXll
— Nick Camino (@NickCaminoWKYC) May 5, 2024
That Cavaliers team was powered by the likes of Brad Daugherty, Mark Price, and Larry Nance Sr. After beating the Nets in five, they were swept by the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls, who eventually went on to win the NBA title. The Cavs would make the playoffs four more times in the 1990s after that, but failed to win a series in any of those appearances.
Donovan Mitchell was largely responsible for carrying Cleveland into the second round. He and his team will face a much more difficult task against the Boston Celtics.
