The 1982–83 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 13th
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
for the team in the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA) and in
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. It involved the team going 23-59 in
Ted Stepien
Theodore J. Stepien (June 9, 1925 – September 10, 2007) was an American businessman who owned the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1980 to 1983. Born in Pittsburgh in 1925, he became wealthy as the founder ...
's final season as the team's owner.
Draft picks
Roster
Regular season
Season standings
:z - clinched division title
:y - clinched division title
:x - clinched playoff spot
Record vs. opponents
Game log
, -style="background:#fcc;"
, 19 , , December 7, 1982 , ,
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
L 90–102,
,
,
,
Coliseum at Richfield
Richfield Coliseum, also known as the Coliseum at Richfield, was an indoor arena located in Richfield Township, between Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. It opened in 1974 as a replacement for the Cleveland Arena, and had a seating capacity of 20,273 f ...
2,254
, 3–16
, -style="background:#fcc;"
, 23 , , December 16, 1982 , , @
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
L 97–106,
,
,
,
The Omni
Omni Coliseum (often called The Omni) was an indoor arena in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Completed in 1972, the arena seated 16,378 for basketball and 15,278 for hockey. It was part of the Omni Complex, now known as the CNN Center.
It was ...
4,564
, 3–20
, -style="background:#fcc;"
, 45 , , February 1, 1983 , , @
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
L 84–93,
,
,
,
The Omni
Omni Coliseum (often called The Omni) was an indoor arena in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Completed in 1972, the arena seated 16,378 for basketball and 15,278 for hockey. It was part of the Omni Complex, now known as the CNN Center.
It was ...
4,802
, 9–36
, -style="background:#fcc;"
, 47 , , February 4, 1983 , ,
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
L 81–92,
,
,
,
Coliseum at Richfield
Richfield Coliseum, also known as the Coliseum at Richfield, was an indoor arena located in Richfield Township, between Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. It opened in 1974 as a replacement for the Cleveland Arena, and had a seating capacity of 20,273 f ...
2,066
, 9–38
, -style="background:#fcc;"
, 66 , , March 18, 1983 , ,
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
L 73–97,
,
,
,
Coliseum at Richfield
Richfield Coliseum, also known as the Coliseum at Richfield, was an indoor arena located in Richfield Township, between Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. It opened in 1974 as a replacement for the Cleveland Arena, and had a seating capacity of 20,273 f ...
2,461
, 17–49
, -style="background:#fcc;"
, 72 , , March 29, 1983 , , @
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
L 82–95,
,
,
,
The Omni
Omni Coliseum (often called The Omni) was an indoor arena in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Completed in 1972, the arena seated 16,378 for basketball and 15,278 for hockey. It was part of the Omni Complex, now known as the CNN Center.
It was ...
5,064
, 18–54
Player statistics
Player Statistics Citation:
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
Bradley Alexander Branson (born September 24, 1958) is an American retired professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and other leagues. He was a 6'10" and forward. Branson played college basketball f ...
to the Indiana Pacers for a 1983 2nd round draft pick.
October 28, 1982 - Waived
Lowes Moore
Lowes Lee Moore (born May 5, 1957) is a former American National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Moore was a 2-time Continental Basketball Association (CBA) champion for the Albany Patroons under coaches Phil Jackson and George Karl. Most kno ...
.
December 6, 1982 - Signed
Sam Lacey
Samuel Lacey (March 28, 1948 – March 14, 2014) was an American basketball player. He spent the majority of his career with the Royals/Kings franchise. Lacey was selected as an all-star while playing for the Kings in 1975, and eventually had hi ...
as a free agent.
December 15, 1982 - Traded
Ron Brewer Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald.
Ron or RON may also refer to:
Arts and media
* Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character
* Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character
*Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...
to the Golden State Warriors for
World B. Free
World B. Free (born Lloyd Bernard Free; December 9, 1953) is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1975 to 1988. Free was known as the "Prince of Mid-Air", "Brownsville Bom ...
.
December 20, 1982 - Waived
Paul Mokeski
Paul Mokeski (born January 3, 1957) is an American former basketball player and coach. Standing 7 ft 0 in, he played the center position. He played for five NBA teams, including six seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Mokeski's last coaching ...
.
January 7, 1983 - Waived
Dave Magley
David John Magley (born November 24, 1959) is a retired American basketball player and coach. He is currently the president of The Basketball League after serving as commissioner of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBLC). Prior to becomi ...
.
January 10, 1983 - Acquired player rights to
Larry Kenon
Larry Joe Kenon (born December 13, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player.
A 6'9" forward who had a productive career in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA), Kenon play ...
from the Golden State Warriors.
January 14, 1983 - Traded
Scott Wedman
Scott Dean Wedman (born July 29, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player who played thirteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted by the Kansas City-Omaha Kings with the sixth pick in the first ...
to the Boston Celtics for
Darren Tillis
Darren Tillis (born February 23, 1960) is an American retired professional basketball player who was selected by the Boston Celtics in the first round (23rd pick overall) of the 1982 NBA draft. A 6'11" center born in Dallas, Texas
Dallas ...
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
Jeffrey Alan Cook (August 27, 1949 – November 7, 2022) was an American country music artist. He was best known for being a founding member of the band Alabama, in which he contributed to lead vocals, guitar, fiddle, piano and other musical ins ...
, 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
Lonnie Jewel Shelton (October 19, 1955 – July 8, 2018) was an American National Basketball Association (NBA) player who played from 1976 to 1985.
Early years
Shelton played college basketball for Oregon State University. He was drafted by the ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1982-83 Cleveland Cavaliers season
Cleveland Cavaliers seasons
C
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
Cl\eveland