1997–98 Cleveland Cavaliers season

The 1997–98 NBA season was the 28th season for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the National Basketball Association.^[1] In the 1997 NBA draft, the Cavaliers selected shooting guard Derek Anderson from the University of Kentucky with the thirteenth overall pick, selected point guard Brevin Knight out of Stanford University with the sixteenth overall pick, and selected small forward Cedric Henderson from the University of Memphis with the 45th overall pick.^[2][3][4]

1997–98 Cleveland Cavaliers season
Head coach	Mike Fratello
General manager	Wayne Embry
Owners	Gordon Gund George Gund III
Arena	Gund Arena
Results
Record	47–35 (.573)
Place	Division: 5th (Central) Conference: 6th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to Pacers 1–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	SportsChannel/Fox Sports Ohio WUAB
Radio	WTAM
< 1996–97 1998–99 >

Lithuanian rookie center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who was drafted by the Cavaliers with the 20th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, but missed all of the previous season due to a foot injury, would make his debut in the NBA this season. During the off-season, the team acquired All-Star forward Shawn Kemp from the Seattle SuperSonics in a three-team trade,^[5][6][7] acquired Wesley Person from the Phoenix Suns in another three-team trade,^[8][9][10] and signed free agent Mitchell Butler.

The Cavaliers struggled with a 4–6 start to the regular season, as Bob Sura went down with an ankle injury and only played just 46 games,^[11][12] and Butler was out for the remainder of the season with a neck injury after 18 games.^[13][14] However, the team posted a ten-game winning streak between November and December,^[15] and later on held a 27–20 record at the All-Star break.^[16] The Cavaliers played above .500 basketball for the remainder of the season, finishing in fifth place in the Central Division with a 47–35 record, earning the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, and qualifying for the NBA playoffs after a one-year absence.^[17] The Cavaliers had the best team defensive rating in the NBA.^[18]

Kemp averaged 18.0 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, while Person averaged 14.7 points and 1.6 steals per game, and also led the league with 192 three-point field goals, and Ilgauskas provided the team with 13.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. In addition, Knight contributed 9.0 points, 8.2 assists, and led the league with 196 total steals, averaging 2.5 steals per game, while Anderson provided with 11.7 points and 1.3 steals per game off the bench, playing 66 games due to a knee injury,^[19][20] Henderson contributed 10.1 points per game, and second-year center Vitaly Potapenko averaged 7.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game off the bench.^[21]

During the NBA All-Star weekend in New York City, New York, Kemp was selected for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game, which would be his sixth and final All-Star appearance,^[22][23][24] and Ilgauskas was named the Most Valuable Player in the NBA Rookie Game, in which he scored 18 points along with 7 rebounds and 2 blocks, as the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference, 85–80.^[25][23][26] Ilgauskas and Knight were both named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, while Anderson and Henderson were both selected the NBA All-Rookie Second Team; Knight also finished tied in eleventh place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,^[27] and head coach Mike Fratello finished in third place in Coach of the Year voting.^[28][27]

However, in the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1998 NBA playoffs, the Cavaliers would lose in four games to the Indiana Pacers,^[29][30][31] 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.^[32][33]

Until 2023, this was the last time the Cavaliers made the playoffs without future All-Star LeBron James, who was selected by the team as the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft.

Offseason

Free agents

Trades

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.^[34]

Roster

1997–98 Cleveland Cavaliers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G/F 23 Derek Anderson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1974–07–18 Kentucky G 2 Scott Brooks 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1965–07–31 UC Irvine G 6 Mitchell Butler 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1970–12–15 UCLA G 27 Tony Dumas 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1972–08–25 UMKC F 35 Danny Ferry 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1966–10–17 Duke F 45 Cedric Henderson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1975–03–11 Memphis C 11 Zydrunas Ilgauskas 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 238 lb (108 kg) 1975–06–05 Lithuania F 32 Henry James 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1965–07–29 St. Mary's (TX) F 4 Shawn Kemp 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1969–11–26 Trinity Valley CC G 12 Brevin Knight 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1975–11–08 Stanford G 1 Wesley Person 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1971–03–28 Auburn C 52 Vitaly Potapenko 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 280 lb (127 kg) 1975–03–21 Wright State C 44 Shawnelle Scott 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1972–06–16 St. John's G 3 Bob Sura 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1973–03–25 Florida State G 30 Carl Thomas 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1969–10–03 Eastern Michigan

Head coach Mike Fratello Assistant(s) Marc Iavaroni Sidney Lowe Ron Rothstein Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: February 22, 1998

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Chicago Bulls	62	20	.756	–	37–4	25–16	21–7
x-Indiana Pacers	58	24	.707	4	32–9	26–15	19–9
x-Charlotte Hornets	51	31	.622	11	32–9	19–22	16–12
x-Atlanta Hawks	50	32	.610	12	29–12	21–20	19–9
x-Cleveland Cavaliers	47	35	.573	15	27–14	20–21	14–14
Detroit Pistons	37	45	.451	25	25–16	12–29	12–16
Milwaukee Bucks	36	46	.439	26	21–20	15–26	9–19
Toronto Raptors	16	66	.195	46	9–32	7–34	2–26

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Chicago Bulls	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Miami Heat	55	27	.671	7
3	x-Indiana Pacers	58	24	.707	4
4	x-Charlotte Hornets	51	31	.622	11
5	x-Atlanta Hawks	50	32	.610	12
6	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	47	35	.573	15
7	x-New York Knicks	43	39	.524	19
8	x-New Jersey Nets	43	39	.524	19
9	Washington Wizards	42	40	.512	20
10	Orlando Magic	41	41	.500	21
11	Detroit Pistons	37	45	.451	25
12	Boston Celtics	36	46	.439	26
13	Milwaukee Bucks	36	46	.439	26
14	Philadelphia 76ers	31	51	.378	31
15	Toronto Raptors	16	66	.195	46

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	–	2–1	4–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–3	3–1	0–2	1–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	4–0
Boston	1–2	–	1–2	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–0	0–2	2–0	3–2
Charlotte	0–4	2–1	–	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
Chicago	3–1	3–1	3–1	–	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–1	4–0	1–1	4–0	4–0	3–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	3–1
Cleveland	0–4	3–1	2–2	2–2	–	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	1–2
Dallas	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	–	3–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–1	0–4	4–0	1–1
Denver	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	–	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1
Detroit	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–0	2–0	–	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–2	2–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	0–2	0–2	2–2
Golden State	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	3–1	0–2	–	1–3	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2
Houston	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	–	1–1	4–0	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–0	0–4	3–1	1–1
Indiana	3–1	4–0	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	–	2–0	0–2	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–1	2–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	4–0
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	–	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–4	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	–	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	4–0	1–3	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1
Miami	3–1	4–0	1–3	1–2	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	–	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
Milwaukee	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–3	–	1–1	0–4	3–1	2–1	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–2
Minnesota	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	4–0	0–4	1–1	1–1	–	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2
New Jersey	2–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2	–	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3
New York	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–4	2–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–2	–	4–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3
Orlando	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–2	2–0	1–3	0–4	–	4–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	3–1
Philadelphia	1–3	1–3	1–2	1–2	1–3	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	0–4	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	–	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	3–1
Phoenix	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	4–0	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	–	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1
Portland	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	–	3–1	2–2	0–4	2–0	3–1	2–2	1–1
Sacramento	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–3	–	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1
San Antonio	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	3–1	0–4	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–2	4–0	–	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1
Seattle	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	3–1	2–2	–	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1
Toronto	0–4	0–3	0–4	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–0	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	–	0–2	1–1	0–3
Utah	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–0	–	4–0	0–2
Vancouver	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	3–1	2–0	3–1	1–3	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	1–1	0–4	–	1–1
Washington	0–4	2–3	2–2	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–0	2–0	1–1	—

Game log

1997–98 game log Total: 47–35 (home: 27–14; road: 20–21)
October: 0-1 (home: 0–0; road: 0–1) Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
November: 9-5 (home: 4–3; road: 5–2) Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
December: 8-5 (home: 4–3; road: 4–2) Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
January: 9-7 (home: 5–3; road: 4–4) Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
February: 4-9 (home: 2–3; road: 2–6) Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
March: 11-4 (home: 7–1; road: 4–3) Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
April: 6-4 (home: 5–1; road: 1–3) Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record

Playoffs

1998 playoff game log
First round: 1–3 (home: 1–1; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location 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%	3P%	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%	3P%	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:^[21]

Awards and records

Awards

• Zydrunas Ilgauskas, NBA All-Rookie First Team
• Brevin Knight, NBA All-Rookie First Team
• Derek Anderson, NBA All-Rookie Second Team
• Cedric Henderson, NBA All-Rookie Second Team

Records

Milestones

All-Star

Shawn Kemp – 1998 NBA All-Star Game

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Development League