The Ultimate Cavaliers Team

In this series, I assemble what I believe is the greatest team possible for each franchise. In this specific video, we're looking at the Cleveland Cavaliers.
5 starters, 5 backups, and 3 rotations players. A total of 13 roster spots on each Ultimate Team. It's not just about talent, but it's about building a team that works and gels together.
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The game of Basketball has been my passion since I was 5 years old. I grew up as a kid watching my dad's recorded VHS tapes of playoff games through the 70s and 80s, and collected all the Basketball cards. Something about the game and what it represents just hooked me from a very young age.
My love for the game only continues to grow as time goes on. I love studying and analyzing the game, with an unbiased perspective. Feel free to subscribe, follow me on social media, and celebrate this amazing game and it's rich history with me!
I post videos every week on NBA history, predictions, hypothetical scenarios and current NBA topics.
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Intro Music: Turn On - RW Smith • Turn On - RW Smith (No... ​​​​​​​​​​
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#nba #basketball #lebronjames

[@jonnyarnett]

If every franchise had their Ultimate roster, do the Cavs make the Playoffs? How far do they go?

[@Shawntrimble9501]

No playoffs lol

[@TellHerNothing]

play in at most

[@celtics17banners84]

Celtics, Bucks, 76ers, Bulls, Heat, Knicks are all better. 7-8 seed at best

[@marceloasensiofilho3833]

Nope

[@zyshawnmoore551]

LeBron has proven he can drag a lesser team to the playoffs, and go further than expected, I’d say conference finals or second round exit

[@frostyflakkes2692]

As a Cavs fan this feels like a fever dream. We rarely get attention outside Lebron. 😂

[@michaelbritt7397]

He did really good including people that I was not aware of as a Laker fan back up point guard, small forward and all of the rotation pieces. I’m definitely taking this team over the all-time team in 2K. He didn’t include a lot of those in the honorable mentions, but I had already heard of all of them minus Jim Brewer but that’s why I like these videos because he goes so in depth. Quality!! To be fair, I have heard of Winnie, Wilkins and Andre Miller but you never see them get shine and had no clue that Miller led the leak and assist it has Austin car as one of the better back up wings … and never heard of cliff!!Not Clifford

[@celtics17banners84]

Thank you for continuing the series. Can not wait for the Celtics!

[@facelessandnameless]

Celtics and Lakers are going to be insane. Their benches would be able to beat most teams starting fives 😅

[@uishinigami2197]

Still waiting for the Celtics

[@greywolf2155]

Mark Price is so damn underrated. Love every time he gets a shoutout in one of your videos

[@Phoenix-pm2qr]

Love seeing Jordan locked up by Harper and Dunked on by Brad 😂

[@Zinnxyy]

Loving this series so far, can't wait for the ultimate Pistons team

[@G7M9W]

Same

[@cadecrusader3940]

Me too!

[@facelessandnameless]

Their defense is going to be crazy!

[@roundtable3501]

Nance and price are great teammates for Lebron’s style. Price was a great off ball player and shooter. Perfect for Lebron’s drive and kick attack. While also a good secondary playmaker. And nance was a great defensive anchor and also a good off ball cutter on offense. So nance would fit better than love. Kemp would be good too, though he peaked in Seattle. Those are the two archetypes that Lebron fit with the best. Defenders and shooters. Also, as a side note, out of all out all the all star players that Lebron has played with, the one that he had the best was Ben Wallace in the 2008-2009 season. They had a net rating of over 18, meaning that’s around a 75 win pace. Showing that the defensive anchor, cutter type of player fits with Lebron really well.

[@PeterAtkinson]

Mark Price was one of my favourite players in the late 80s - early 90s. Always enjoy hearing his name mentioned. Love the series Jonny. 👍👍

[@G7M9W]

Definitely a solid team. It's good to see Brandon, Hill, and Free at least make the honorable mentions.

[@bladerunner7324]

Love this series, glad to see it getting continued. Keep going, Johnny. Cheers from Brazil 🇧🇷 ❤

[@L0DINOG]

Can’t wait til you finish this series so I can make a MyNBA in 2k with all these teams

[@d3m1g0d4]

You ma mehn, are ahead of your time

[@TellHerNothing]

They have all time teams already

[@L0DINOG]

@@TellHerNothing Johnnys are a little different

[@MrAndrew12349]

Great series can’t wait to see the mavericks

[@fortnitejake850]

Outside of LeBron and Kyrie, I didn’t expect this team to be this good. They low key fire

[@expiredmilk5435]

​@@billybadass3056None of them went to the Cavs lol

[@mervinbolton2583]

Because you don’t know Basketball

[@kurtmagnus5243]

I used to watch Mark Price play in his day, and I hated the Cavs because of him. Any time that he would go up against one of my teams he would always give them problems.

[@RudieObias]

I’m a lifelong Cavs fan and I’d take Mark Price over Kyrie Irving

[@kurtmagnus5243]

@@billybadass3056 bro, Chicago used to have a hard time with them as well. There’s even a shot that Michael Jordan took over Craig Ehlo that history will never ever forget. That shot made the bulls barely win over the Cavs. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gmKmmaKnp7Z2qKc&si=WgYiuA41Tbzo1bIt

[@kevinhouse4376]

Great job as always, Jonny! I'm so glad you didn't forget about Austin Carr. He was a great player at Notre Dame and then in the early '70s with the Cavs. I wish you would have included Bobby "Bingo" Smith among those final three players as he was one of the only bright spots (along with Carr) on those really bad Cavs teams. I'll add that as a Celtics fan, I remember how good those late '80s Cavs teams were with Price, Daugherty and Nance.

[@markjackson6431]

Nate Thurmond is underrated. should be on this team

[@roundtable3501]

I agree that he’s underrated, but he was past his prime when he was with the cavs.

[@bezllama3325]

and he only played there for a year and a half @@roundtable3501

[@AveryBlackman]

​@@roundtable3501Lebron's grandfather, don't get it twisted. 😏 Warriors vs. Cavaliers 2016 Finals. Nate played for both teams.

[@KaineTremaine]

That Chicago All Time team would annihilate the Cavs All Time team. 💯 Looking forward to my Pacers..

[@thomash8501]

Straight up facts there, friend! Loved the Pacers in the Reggie Miller days. Looking forward to Jonny's vid on them as well.

[@stinkypinkie9029]

Perfect timing, I was looking forward to this series

[@LeanderJD]

Nice video! love this series! the cavs have a pretty fun backcourt for sure! and a solid bench. Can't wait for my C's!

[@TheSentry777]

Terrell Brandon was a baaaaaad boy. Loved watching him play

[@justinallen1092]

One of my favorite series you've done!

[@ant4613]

People really don't know about those early 90s Cavs teams. Great team, they just lost to Jordan's Bulls every year in the playoffs.

[@ant4613]

@@sonza68 Yeah... I mean I feel like they don't really get talked about at all anymore. You hear people say Jordan stopped Malone, Stockton, Ewing, Miller, Barkley, etc. from getting a ring... what about the Cavs, Price and Daugherty? In 92, if not for the Bulls in the Conference Finals, they would have had the Blazers in the Finals and that would have been a great series but they could have been NBA champions. They were a good enough team. Just ran into Jordan every year lol.

[@decapitofamily3410]

@@ant4613 Cavaliers of the 2010s avenged the great 1990's team. Looks like 2020's Cavs are ready to make a run. Going to be fun!

[@Lg26626]

He’s only been there for one year but Donovan Mitchell arguably had the 2nd best Cavs season aside from any Lebron James Season, 2nd to Kyrie or Price, he should def be on this list

[@ratman5106]

Yeah I’m confused how Darius Garland got an honorable mention but Donovan didn’t.

[@joshuachang5210]

@@ratman5106 probably tenure reasons

[@justinholland6132]

@@joshuachang5210Shawn kemp wasn’t there for a long time. Even Andre miller was only there for two seasons like johny said

[@alex4833]

Awesome choices, Jonny! I can see why the starting 5 would work so well together. It would be so fun to see Daugherty, Love, and James together. Plus, Price and Irving would be a solid guard duo. I like the inclusion of Harper, esp. given how I recall he averaged at least 20 ppg during parts of his career in Cleveland. Miller is a great addition too. I remember him being on one of my fantasy basketball teams in the early 2000s and how he was a great guard. I am excited to see more of the videos in this series :). Happy Friday, Jonny! 😊

[@capncranchcrudlespuddle8024]

absolutely love this series! keep it up jonny

[@smmpaliz1984]

Amazing series! Great job 👏🏻

[@catherinelynnfraser2001]

Love this series ❤ Every team is fire 🔥 I expect the chemistry is the real difference maker. There are so many greats in the history of basketball 🏀

[@pauly_poggers7386]

thank you!

[@alexandermendez4653]

Surprised no one from the current squad made it. Mitchell or Garland could both help a lot.

[@animeguitarguy]

Great work as always Jonny

[@cadecrusader3940]

Thank you Jonny!

[@jakewaltermire2182]

This team lacks some of the big names other organizations will have .... But I think this team plays together extremely well. And there's still enough star power to get it done

[@ltrigga219]

Oh man, Terrell Brandon not being on here hurts, even with the other great guards. Dude I love these videos, glad you’re doing them!

[@cameronno6039]

Great video. Really nice team. I'm surprised Ricky Davis was mentioned but not Carlos Boozer. Donovan Mitchell should also be in there somewhere. 😅

[@hyabberhane]

Boozer only had like two years there and they were ok. He broke out in Utah

[@cameronno6039]

@@hyabberhane He's added plenty of other people on teams who had prime years at another place. That's why he shows career numbers instead of team numbers. You might not like it, but if Ricky Davis is getting a nod, Boozer did at least as well.

[@Fraz_In_Chat]

Great video🔥

[@zx9green791]

Great video

[@Ben-se6vy]

Amazing Series fr fr

[@joshuas135]

Cannot wait to see my Celtics next ☘️☘️☘️

[@fortynights1513]

In no particular order: Russell, Jones, Cousy, Bird, McHale, Parish, Havlicek, Cowens, Garnett, Pierce, Allen, maybe Tatum rounding it out in the bottom three. Very good team.

[@cozyboykel]

This a sneaky team fr I gotta see all the teams but id expect then to be 4-6 seed in a all time playoff run

[@ArtMagik]

Without even thinking about it there will be at least 4 teams above them. Bulls, Lakers, Celtics and Warriors. The 76ers and Bucks will probably have also a better team overall and maybe the Heat, Knicks and Spurs.

[@cozyboykel]

@@ArtMagikI should’ve said but playoff seed but some of those teams are in the west anyway

[@1sk_4l71]

Great video for one of my favorite franchises

[@dolloptrollop]

so cool to learn about the lesser known old school chads. thanks jonny!

[@friedmoose]

been waiting and waiting for the celtics one, can’t wait. i hope you continue this series but 30 teams is a lot so i’d get it if not, you absolutely could just stretch this series out over a couple years to make this so this is something you do once in a while to keep it more fresh and to have better overall revenue for each video, but yk i have 3 subscribers and yk your shit lmao

[@ninoschouten9727]

I love these series. I especially love the fact you focus on the how good the players were when they played for the franchise and not just how good their entire careers were. I think enough people would put Shaq in here based on his all time rankings but Johnny is very mehtodogical in his approach in these series and I say he does great job at it.

[@dionysise5008]

Daugherty was such a great center. He was supposed to be at same level as Ewing, Hakeem and Robinson in the process. In fact he tached that level but had a very short career.

[@jamiekelley4076]

Loving this series and i appreciate the Big Z love in this channel. Underrated player getting lost to history

[@swiftesince_2012]

This man is covering this NBA 2k all-time teams

[@wrongun43]

Nice work, keep it up 👍 I’d have Free/Russell over Robinson but love this team

[@romanramirez7847]

I love this series so much! Can’t wait for my Nuggets!

[@letsgoooo9200]

It’s gonna be a while till we get to that 😂😂

[@Miamisbestalltimeshooterrayray]

I like the new mic Jonny

[@joaohenriquedalpiaz8452]

Varejão was underrated, he's mostly remembered for being dunked on hard by DWade but he was actually a great role player, once averaged 15 pts and 15 boards and even made 2nd team all defense once

[@elijahmorris9864]

C. Brad Daugherty PF. Hot Rod Williams SF. LeBron James SG. Kyrie Irving PG. Mark Price 6. Zydrunas Ilgauskas 7. Larry Nance Sr. 8. Anderson Varejão 9. Kevin Love 10. Tristan Thomson 11. Lenny Wilkens 12. Ron Harper 13. Mike Mitchell 14. Andre Miller 15. Austin Carr

[@erickennedy9388]

With the way the game is played today the guys from the past will go crazy

[@hardwoodgems]

I was expecting Terrell Brandon, but I cannot argue against Andre Miller to add more balance and play making. Also, learning about Austin Carr and Cliff Robinson was great.

[@idoru999]

Job well done! I wonder how pairing Mark with LBJ would work. Who would be the primary ball handler? I think LBJ, Mark, and Uncle Drew could break down the defense. LBJ could handle the ball, and Mark and Uncle Drew could create opportunities through split actions drives and three-point shooting. It would be spectacular to watch." Btw - If we could mix Ron Harper's young athleticism and the Bulls version's deference and experience, I would move him to the S5 position for Brad. LBJ on the 4 (but in a point forward role) and Kevin on the 5.

[@byroncusick2240]

Ngl you had me kinda nervous with price at the 1... I'm like yo what what about KY 🤣🤣 my bad big dawg

[@ControlYourKids]

You should conclude this “Ultimate Franchise” series with a tier list ranking every team

[@ManEFresh]

I can see them as a playoff team. Largely due to the starting 3 backcourt legends, but this isn't a bad team. There are some underrately talented players here like Larry Nance Sr. and Big Z for them to have a bench that's solid enough to compete with the big boys. I will say I wasn't excepting names like Lenny Wilkens, Ron Harper and especially Andre Miller, as all 3 didn't play that long for the franchise. I remember them more in order: Hawks/Sonics, Clippers/Bulls, and 76ers/Nuggets. Cleveland letting Harper walk to the Clippers seemed understandable at the time due to a particular scandal (look it up), but turned out to be a colossal mistake that might have cost those Mark Price teams a potential Finals appearance or maybe even a ring. Plus, not gonna lie, I never even heard of Mike Mitchell or Clifford Robinson before this video, so nice to know there. I still would have put Campy Russell there, but there. I also considered Terrell Brandon, but you put enough guards as it is. But hey, those are my thoughts. See you for the Celtics. P.S. I don't care that he couldn't play that long due to injuries, Mark Price not being in the Basketball Hall of Fame when you look at some other names who are there is a joke.

[@fortynights1513]

After he’s done everyone, we’ll see if they just make the playoffs or are a title favorite. Wouldn’t be surprised.

[@letsgoooo9200]

This team is sneaky good

[@decapitofamily3410]

This team would be amazing to watch, very stacked, they might even come back from being down 3-1 and beat the 'best' in the finals

[@jinxsauce5095]

waiting for the ultimate warriors team

[@fortynights1513]

Curry, Klay, Rick Barry, Durant, Wilt.

[@richardnatividad9800]

johnny can you also rank the year by year best all first team. thank you hope u notice.

[@roukenthesaiyan]

I Cant Have both Kyrie, M Price and K Love in this Starting 5, I need some D in there. LeBron Can Score at will and he can also be a floor General. Im taking Ky at my 6th man and Ron H at the 2. He is an elite 2 way, Mark Price is an excellent catch and shoot that LeBron can find, and MP can find LeBron slashing and in the open court, also K Love open for a 3 or Ron coming of screens for the mod range or also slashing. Ron fits that starting 5 better IMO.

[@jupitervideos7702]

PG: Mark Price SG: Kyrie Irving SF: LeBron James PF: Donovan Mitchell C: Kevin Love 6: Brad Daugherty 7: Austin Carr 8: Larry Nance Sr 9: Lenny Wilkens 10: Darius Garland 11: Zydrunas Ilgauskas 12: Nate Thurmond 13: World B. Free

[@qik1977]

Thank u for this. I made a 2k season with most of these rosters you've created so far. Terrific videos!!

[@lemecmbuka1294]

are you going to do all the team in the nba

[@bws0212]

I know that Seattle SuperSonics aren't no more,but I hope that you will do them also!

[@Dgent1990]

PG:K.Irwing,M.Price,D.Garland. AG:D.Mitchell,C.Sexton,R.Harper. SF:LJames,M.Mitchell,C.Russell,John Johnson. MF:L.Nance,E.Mobley,T.Hill. C:B.Daugherty,J.Allen.

[@Boss3Nate]

Oh I can't wait to watch this.. Cavs fan my whole life. So before watching I'm saying...... PG: Mark Price SG: Ron Harper SF: LeBron James PF: Larry Nance C: Brad Daugherty Bench: PG: Kyrie Irving SG: Austin Carr SF: Craig Ehlo PF: Kevin Love C: Shaq hahahaha. Or big Z Role guys: JR Smith Bobby Sura Hot Rod Williams

[@yanncarduner4516]

great team

[@epicduck0574]

Donovan Mitchell I think should be up there, although he has only been with the Cavs for one season, so if you didn't want to include him based on that, I understand. Otherwise, I feel he's too good to not include.

[@scottrichards3587]

Totally ridiculous not to have Bingo Smith on this list. Best choice for 2nd team small forward. Always in top 5 in league in scoring, probably #1 if 3 point was available😊

[@alessiodaniotti264]

Great team! And without picking Anthony Bennet!!

[@cesarbarbosa8875]

2013 varejao could be in the last spot, dude was averaging 14/14 in route to become an allstar that year, but got injury

[@alejanoelallen1952]

🏀

[@thescarfguy]

More ultimate team!

[@sidseverino]

I think it would be better if there's no duplicate players in every team. Only one team for each player. Price Kyrie LeBron Love Daugherty Garland Carr Mitchell Nance Sr. Big Z Mo Williams Campy Russell Robinson REMOVE: Wilkens (Hawks) Harper (Bulls) Miller (Nuggets)

[@HiNRGboy]

Gotta have Campy Russell and Jim Chones in there somewhere? and World B Free!

[@michaelsloane9955]

This ultimate team is surprisingly good compared to intuitive expectations. This is because the cavs history is loaded with underrated. Mark Price, Brad Daughtery, Larry Nance, Ron Harper, Austin Carr and Zydrunas Ilgauskas are all underrated. The parts fit well together too. With LeBron and Kyrie doing the bulk of the scoring in the starting lineup, Love and Daughtery can focus more on rebounding and Price can focus on playmaking and shooting. Harper is a fantastic two way player off the bench. He got snubbed for Rookie of the Year in 1987 but young Harper was a great explosive athlete and finisher. He was also fantastic defender and it's a shame he never made an all defense team. Part of me thinks Terrell Brandon deserves to be the last guy at the end of the bench but this roster has enough floor generals and playmaking as it is. I don't much about this Cliff Robinson so I'd have probably gone with Hot Rod Williams as the last guy on the bench to focus on the dirty work.

[@stephenwashingtonjr1625]

I was thinking about Donovan Mitchell but I guess it depends on how you are doing the teams

[@ydc_jay1204]

Yeah at least in the honorable mention’s

[@reallydoe2052]

❤

[@Uglyduckling-1]

Evan Mobley will be at C spot in the future

[@lukebbuff]

This starting unit in sneaky good. The amount of spacing this team has with Bron making plays makes them comparative with way more talented squads playing in todays game.

[@zorskins]

Mo Williams. Ricky Davis. My picks that was left off

[@matthewbardos4424]

Two other honorable mentions (at least): Walt Frazier and Carlos Boozer.

[@user-qq4xo4if3i]

The roster sounds good, but I would put world b free in the second unit, and I think Lenny Wilkins should be the honorable mention

[@mikeprolas2027]

What about craig elo? Also just wauting for the ultimate lakers team its going to be insane

[@ATroubledGreensLibrary]

🎉❤

[@big8dog887]

Looking forward to the Ultimate Warriors.

[@Phoenix-pm2qr]

The 2016 - 2019 Warriors lol + Wilt and Baron Davis

[@johnanderson9765]

I was expecting we might see the Williamses and Garland as the additional rotation players.

[@ktapreswreckd921v9]

Jonny, it doesn't matter if it's Mark Price, Kyrie Ervin, Andre Miller. James is going to be the main distributor.

[@patrickjamison8707]

Hot Rod Williams shoulda got last spot could play anywhere in front court at 6'11" chemistry and fit guy solid all around

[@ohyeah_jt]

Sometime in the future we might see Mobley or Donovan here

[@bortonshort3761]

How are you feeling about the next team, Jonny? It looks like it won’t be easy at all!

[@greywolf2155]

You fool, Jonny. You could have put pre-Miami Bron at SF and then post-Miami Bron at PF!

[@cuzz7483]

Campy Russell. World b free and Jr Smith honorable mention

[@phoule76]

heh, Ricky Davis, the legend

[@rasenganb41vtx]

Do all teams

[@JulianLopez-xo4wz]

I thought Ello and World B Free would be on team learned a lot .

[@garysalazar5279]

CELTICS Celtics so deep, Ray Allen might miss the cut, and no player from the Tatum era can sniff it Russell McHale Bird Pierce Cousy Parish Cowens Hondo Sam Jones White DJ KG Heinson Honorables Rondo Archibald Sharman Allen

[@ElectrifyingUno]

The Phoenix Suns one will be good with all the point guards they had thru the years.

[@hughtrotman2212]

Jonny have you ever played NBA 2K? What are your thoughts on that?