Best Draft Pick In Cleveland Cavaliers History

As with the Chicago Bulls, when it comes to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the debate around the greatest draft pick in franchise history isn't really a debate at all. Kyrie Irving might deserve honorable mention as a six-time All-Star who hit one of the most clutch shots in NBA Finals history, but this conversation begins and ends with one player, LeBron James.

Born and raised forty miles south of Cleveland in Akron, Ohio, James was the kind of generational talent that comes along once in a lifetime.  By his junior year at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, he had already graced the cover of Sports Illustrated under the headline "The Chosen One." He hadn't played a single NBA game. Before he did, Nike handed him a $90 million endorsement deal. NBA teams were ready to sign him before he played his senior season.

The year before James arrived, the Cavaliers had finished a dismal 17-65, one of the worst records in the league. Cleveland won the 2003 draft lottery and selected James first overall. At the age of 19, James recorded 25 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals in his NBA debut and was a lock for the Rookie of the Year award since day one.   Within two seasons, the Cavaliers were a playoff team. In his fourth season, he dragged a roster consisting mainly of role players to the NBA Finals, the first in franchise history.

James made “the decision” to leave for Miami in 2010, breaking not only the Cavaliers' hearts but also those of an entire city, and went on to win two championships with the Heat. James would return home in 2014 and did the unthinkable, delivering the city its first major professional sports championship in 52 years, erasing one of sport's most notorious curses with a 3-1 Finals comeback against a 73-win Golden State Warriors team.

In eleven seasons with the Cavs, James made ten All-NBA teams, ten All-Star Appearances, two MVPs, and countless franchise records. But more than the championships, the MVPs, and the franchise records, James gave an entire city something it had been waiting 52 years for, and for Cleveland, that will never be forgotten. The greatest draft pick in Cavaliers history, and quite possibly in the history of the sport.