This story was originally published on August 21, 2019.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are ramping up to celebrate their 50th season in the NBA. On Tuesday, the team announced a new Wall of Honor to serve as a tribute to those who have made “significant contributions” to the organization and its history. It will stand in the new North Atrium area of Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
In addition, the team is having fans vote on bobblehead giveaways representing each era of Cavs basketball. For the Richfield Coliseum era of 1983-1993, fans selected point guard Mark Price, which WKSU sports commentator Terry Pluto said is significant.
Second-best in Cavs history
"There were several good players during that era. Along with Price, Larry Nance and Brad Daugherty have their numbers retired. John "Hot Rod" Williams was a fan favorite. Lenny Wilkins was a Hall of Fame coach."
Pluto believes that next to LeBron James, Price is the second-best player in Cavs history.
"Price, and the other guys when they were here, played beautiful basketball. You didn't see a lot of isolation that you do now. It was spacing and ball movement. They shot a lot of three-pointers for their era and that's one of the things Price was known for."
Price played nine of his 12 seasons in the NBA with the Cavs. He was a four-time All-Star. He ranks first among all Cavaliers in free throw percentage and second in three-point field goals made and attempted, assists and steals. He also ranks among the top 10 all-time in franchise history in three-point field goal percentage.
Mark Price lived in Hudson. It was almost an all-Summit County team
Regular guys
Pluto called Price and asked him why that era of Cavs history so special. "He said they were regular guys."
"Mark Price lived in Hudson. Nance lived in Bath. Williams lived in Copley. Craig Ehlo lived in Fairlawn. It was almost an all-Summit County team. It was also a very likeable group of guys. Lots of these guys were from small-to-middle-sized cities in the Midwest or the South."
Price also said the guys would meet up at a playground in Cuyahoga Falls during the summer for pickup games.
Pluto says unfortunately the group never saw a title because of The Bulls' Michael Jordan. "Five times that group was eliminated in the playoffs by Jordan."
At 55, Price now lives in Charlotte and was an assistant with the Denver Nuggets last season.
Fans selected Austin Carr as the bobblehead for 'The Early Years" of 1970 to 1983. Fan voting is now underway for bobblehead #3: The Gund Arena era from 1994-2003.
