1982–83 Cleveland Cavaliers season

The 1982–83 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 13th season for the team in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and in Cleveland, Ohio. It involved the team going 23–59 in Ted Stepien's final season as the team's owner.

1982–83 Cleveland Cavaliers season
Head coach	Tom Nissalke
General manager	Harry Weltman
Owner(s)	Ted Stepien
Arena	Coliseum at Richfield
Results
Record	23–59 (.280)
Place	Division: 5th (Central) Conference: 10th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	WUAB
Radio	WBBG[1]
< 1981–82 1983–84 >

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	12	John Bagley	PG	Boston College
2	28	Dave Magley	PF	Kansas

Roster

1982–83 Cleveland Cavaliers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From PG 5 John Bagley 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1960-04-23 Boston College PF 44 Jeff Cook 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1956-10-21 Idaho State PF 23 Bruce Flowers 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1957-06-13 Notre Dame SG 21 World B. Free 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1953-12-09 Guilford C 41 Steve Hayes 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1955-08-02 Idaho State SF 35 Phil Hubbard 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1956-12-13 Michigan PG 20 Geoff Huston 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1957-11-08 Texas Tech PF 9 Larry Kenon 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1952-12-13 Memphis C 52 Sam Lacey 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1948-03-28 New Mexico State SG 24 Carl Nicks 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1958-10-06 Indiana State PF 11 Cliff Robinson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1960-03-13 USC C 25 Darren Tillis 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1960-02-23 Cleveland State SF 33 Bob Wilkerson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1954-08-15 Indiana

Head coach Tom Nissalke Assistant(s) Don Delaney Gene Littles Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: March 30, 1983

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Milwaukee Bucks	51	31	.622	–	31–10	20–21	22–7
x-Atlanta Hawks	43	39	.524	8	26–15	17–24	21–8
Detroit Pistons	37	45	.451	14	23–18	14–27	19–11
Chicago Bulls	28	54	.341	23	18–23	10–31	13–17
Cleveland Cavaliers	23	59	.280	28	15–26	8–33	8–22
Indiana Pacers	20	62	.244	31	14–27	6–35	6–24

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Philadelphia 76ers	65	17	.793	–
2	y-Milwaukee Bucks	51	31	.622	14
3	x-Boston Celtics	56	26	.683	9
4	x-New Jersey Nets	49	33	.598	16
5	x-New York Knicks	44	38	.537	21
6	x-Atlanta Hawks	43	39	.524	22
7	Washington Bullets	42	40	.512	23
8	Detroit Pistons	37	45	.451	28
9	Chicago Bulls	28	54	.341	37
10	Cleveland Cavaliers	23	59	.280	42
11	Indiana Pacers	20	62	.244	45

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1982-83 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	KCK	LAL	MIL	NJN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAS	SDC	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	1–5	5–1	6–0	1–1	1–1	3–3	0–2	2–0	6–0	0–2	0–2	1–4	2–4	3–2	2–4	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–2
Boston	5–1	—	3–2	5–1	2–0	2–0	3–3	1–1	2–0	4–1	1–1	2–0	3–3	5–1	3–3	3–3	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–3
Chicago	1–5	2–3	—	5–1	1–1	1–1	2–4	2–0	1–1	4–2	0–2	0–2	1–5	2–4	1–4	1–5	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–5
Cleveland	0–6	1–5	1–5	—	2–0	0–2	1–5	2–0	2–0	5–1	1–1	0–2	1–5	0–6	1–5	0–5	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–2
Dallas	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	—	3–3	2–0	3–2	5–1	2–0	3–3	2–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–3	3–2	2–4	5–0	2–3	2–4	0–2
Denver	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	3–3	—	2–0	4–1	5–1	1–1	3–3	1–4	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–1	2–3	2–4	3–2	3–2	4–2	1–1
Detroit	3–3	3–3	4–2	5–1	0–2	0–2	—	2–0	2–0	4–2	0–2	0–2	3–3	3–2	1–5	0–6	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–2
Golden State	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–3	1–4	0–2	—	3–2	1–1	1–4	1–5	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–4	2–4	1–4	3–3	3–3	3–2	2–0
Houston	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–5	1–5	0–2	2–3	—	2–0	1–5	0–5	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–5	0–5	1–5	2–3	1–4	0–6	1–1
Indiana	0–6	1–4	2–4	1–5	0–2	1–1	2–4	1–1	0–2	—	1–1	0–2	1–5	0–6	3–3	1–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–5
Kansas City	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–3	3–3	2–0	4–1	5–1	1–1	—	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–4	2–3	3–3	4–1	1–4	4–2	2–0
Los Angeles	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	3–2	4–1	2–0	5–1	5–0	2–0	4–1	—	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	3–3	3–3	1–4	5–1	5–1	4–1	1–1
Milwaukee	4–1	3–3	5–1	5–1	2–0	0–2	3–3	1–1	2–0	5–1	1–1	0–2	—	3–2	4–2	1–5	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	3–2
New Jersey	4–2	1–5	4–2	6–0	2–0	1–1	2–3	2–0	1–1	6–0	1–1	1–1	2–3	—	4–2	3–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–2
New York	2–3	3–3	4–1	5–1	2–0	2–0	5–1	1–1	2–0	3–3	1–1	0–2	2–4	2–4	—	1–5	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–2
Philadelphia	4–2	3–3	5–1	5–0	2–0	2–0	6–0	2–0	2–0	4–1	2–0	2–0	5–1	3–3	5–1	—	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	4–2
Phoenix	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	3–2	1–4	1–1	4–2	5–0	1–1	4–1	3–3	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	—	5–1	3–2	4–2	5–1	5–0	0–2
Portland	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–3	3–2	1–1	4–2	5–0	2–0	3–2	3–3	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–5	—	2–3	5–1	3–3	3–2	1–1
San Antonio	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	4–2	4–2	1–1	4–1	5–1	2–0	3–3	4–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–3	3–2	—	4–1	1–4	5–1	2–0
San Diego	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–5	2–3	1–1	3–3	3–2	1–1	1–4	1–5	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–4	1–5	1–4	—	0–6	2–3	0–2
Seattle	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	3–3	4–1	1–1	4–1	1–5	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–5	3–3	4–1	6–0	—	5–0	1–1
Utah	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	4–2	2–4	2–0	2–3	6–0	0–2	2–4	1–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–5	2–3	1–5	3–2	0–5	—	0–2
Washington	2–4	3–3	5–1	2–3	2–0	1–1	2–3	0–2	1–1	5–1	0–2	1–1	3–3	3–3	2–4	2–4	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	—

Game log

1982–83 game log Total: 23–59 (Home: 15–26; Road: 8–33)
October: 0–2 (home: 0–2; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
November: 2–11 (home: 1–4; road: 1–7) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
December: 2–12 (home: 2–5; road: 0–7) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 19 December 7, 1982 Atlanta L 90–102 Coliseum at Richfield 2,254 3–16 23 December 16, 1982 @ Atlanta L 97–106 The Omni 4,564 3–20
January: 5–10 (home: 3–5; road: 2–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
February: 6–6 (home: 5–3; road: 1–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 45 February 1, 1983 @ Atlanta L 84–93 The Omni 4,802 9–36 47 February 4, 1983 Atlanta L 81–92 Coliseum at Richfield 2,066 9–38
March: 4–12 (home: 2–3; road: 2–9) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 66 March 18, 1983 Atlanta L 73–97 Coliseum at Richfield 2,461 17–49 72 March 29, 1983 @ Atlanta L 82–95 The Omni 5,064 18–54
April: 4–5 (home: 2–3; road: 2–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
1982–83 schedule

Player statistics

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

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
World B. Free	54	51	35.9	45.8	35.7	74.7	2.9	3.7	1.5	0.2	24.2
Scott Wedman	35	35	36.9	48.0	40.9	84.4	5.9	2.5	0.7	0.3	18.1
Cliff Robinson	77	75	33.8	47.7	0.0	70.8	11.1	1.9	0.8	0.8	18.0
James Edwards	15	8	25.5	48.7	0.0	62.3	6.4	0.9	0.5	0.9	12.3
Geoff Huston	80	79	34.0	48.2	33.3	68.6	2.0	6.1	0.9	0.1	12.2
Ron Brewer	21	18	26.8	40.0	0.0	86.3	1.8	1.3	1.0	0.3	11.4
Phil Hubbard	82	38	23.8	48.2	0.0	68.9	5.7	1.1	1.1	0.1	9.5
Larry Kenon	32	7	19.5	47.2	0.0	76.1	3.7	1.1	0.7	0.3	7.3
Jeff Cook	30	20	26.1	53.7	0.0	76.0	6.9	1.5	0.9	0.6	7.1
Carl Nicks	9	2	16.4	44.1	0.0	64.7	2.9	1.2	0.7	0.0	7.0
Bob Wilkerson	77	11	22.1	41.7	0.0	75.0	3.1	2.5	0.9	0.2	6.7
John Bagley	68	3	14.6	43.2	0.0	76.2	1.4	2.5	0.8	0.1	5.7
Paul Mokeski	23	18	23.4	45.5	0.0	61.5	6.0	1.1	0.5	1.0	5.5
Bruce Flowers	53	5	13.2	53.4	0.0	77.4	3.4	0.9	0.4	0.2	4.9
Sam Lacey	60	33	20.5	42.0	22.2	78.4	3.9	2.0	0.5	0.4	4.2
Darren Tillis	37	4	13.0	43.7	0.0	63.6	3.3	0.4	0.2	0.8	4.1
Steve Hayes	65	3	16.3	47.9	0.0	56.9	3.6	0.6	0.3	0.6	3.6
Dave Magley	14	0	4.0	25.0	0.0	50.0	0.7	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.9

Player Statistics Citation:^[2]

Awards and records

Transactions

October 7, 1982 - Traded a 1986 2nd round draft pick to the Detroit Pistons for Steve Hayes.

October 11, 1982 - Waived Mike Evans.

October 22, 1982 - Waived Michael Wilson.

October 25, 1982 - Traded Brad Branson to the Indiana Pacers for a 1983 2nd round draft pick.

October 28, 1982 - Waived Lowes Moore.

December 6, 1982 - Signed Sam Lacey as a free agent.

December 15, 1982 - Traded Ron Brewer to the Golden State Warriors for World B. Free.

December 20, 1982 - Waived Paul Mokeski.

January 7, 1983 - Waived Dave Magley.

January 10, 1983 - Acquired player rights to Larry Kenon from the Golden State Warriors.

January 14, 1983 - Traded Scott Wedman to the Boston Celtics for Darren Tillis and a 1983 1st round draft pick.

February 7, 1983 - Traded James Edwards and a 1983 1st round draft pick to the Phoenix Suns for Jeff Cook, a 1983 1st round draft pick, and a 1983 3rd round draft pick.

March 21, 1983 - Waived Larry Kenon.

March 30, 1983 - Signed Carl Nicks as a free agent.

June 27, 1983 - Traded a 1983 2nd round draft pick to the Seattle SuperSonics for Lonnie Shelton.