The

1995–96 NBA season The 1995–96 NBA season was the 50th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA), though the 50th anniversary was not celebrated until the following season. The Chicago Bulls defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Final ...

was the 26th season of 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 St ...

in Cleveland, Ohio. During the off-season, the Cavaliers acquired All-Star guard, and three-point specialist

Dan Majerle Daniel Lewis Majerle (; born September 9, 1965), also known by the nickname "Thunder Dan", is an American former professional basketball player and former coach of the Grand Canyon Antelopes. He played 14 years in the National Basketball Associat ...

from the Phoenix Suns, and acquired 2-time Slam Dunk champion

Harold Miner Harold David Miner (born May 5, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player and two-time champion of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Slam Dunk Contest. He attended college at the University of Southern California (USC) a ...

from the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

. After the first two games,

Tyrone Hill Tyrone Hill (born March 19, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player and former assistant coach for the National Basketball Association's Atlanta Hawks. Hill spent four years playing collegiately at Xavier University, in his la ...

was seriously injured in a car accident and missed 38 games, as the Cavs struggled losing their first seven games of the season. However, Hill returned in the second half of the season playing off the bench, being replaced by

Michael Cage Michael Jerome Cage Sr. (born January 28, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player and current broadcast analyst for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Basketball career A 6'9" power forward/center from San Diego State, he is the Aztecs ...

as the team's starting center. The Cavaliers played above .500 for the remainder of the season, holding a 26–20 record at the All-Star break, posting a 10–2 record in February, and finishing 3rd in the Central Division with a 47–35 record.

Terrell Brandon Thomas Terrell Brandon (born May 20, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player. He played for three teams during his 11-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A two-time All-Star, Brandon was a key starter on ...

continued to show improvement, leading the team with 19.3 points, 6.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and was selected for the

1996 NBA All-Star Game The 1996 NBA All-Star Game was the 46th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, an exhibition basketball game played on February 11, 1996. The event was held at the Alamodome in San Antonio and was a part of the 50th season of the NBA. The game was t ...

. In addition, Chris Mills had a stellar season averaging 15.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, while

Bobby Phills Bobby Ray Phills II (December 20, 1969 – January 12, 2000) was an American professional basketball player. He played shooting guard and small forward for the National Basketball Association's Cleveland Cavaliers and Charlotte Hornets. A ...

provided the team with 14.6 points and 1.4 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.

Danny Ferry Daniel John Willard Ferry (born October 17, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and an All-American college player at Duke University. He most recently served as interim genera ...

became the team's starting power forward, and contributed 13.3 points per game, while Majerle played a sixth man role, averaging 10.6 points per game off the bench, Cage contributed 6.0 points and led the team with 8.9 rebounds per game, and Hill provided with 7.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game off the bench. Head coach

Mike Fratello Michael Robert Fratello (born February 24, 1947) is an American sports broadcaster and a professional basketball coach. Fratello is currently an analyst for Fox Sports Ohio for the Cavaliers and a part-time color commentator for Fox Sports West f ...

finished in second place in

Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

voting, while Brandon and Ferry both finished tied in third place in Most Improved Player voting. However, in the Eastern Conference First Round of the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

, the Cavs were swept by the 5th-seeded New York Knicks in three straight games. Following the season, Majerle signed as a free agent with the

after only playing just one season with the Cavaliers, while Cage signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, and Miner retired after only just four seasons in the NBA due to injuries, only playing just 19 games with the Cavaliers this season due to a knee injury. After missing the previous two seasons with a back injury, former All-Star center

Brad Daugherty Brad Daugherty may refer to: * Brad Daugherty (basketball) (born 1965), American NBA player, currently a television sportscaster * Brad Daugherty (poker player) (born 1951), American poker player {{Hndis, Daugherty, Brad ...

also retired, ending his eight-year career in the NBA with the Cavaliers. Key Dates:

Offseason

Free agents

Trades

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

* Center

missed the entire season due to a back injury.

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

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Playoffs

, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 1 , April 25 , New York
L 83–106
,

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(8) ,

Brandon Brandon may refer to: Names and people *Brandon (given name), a male given name *Brandon (surname), a surname with several different origins Places Australia *Brandon, a farm and 19th century homestead in Seaham, New South Wales *Brandon, Q ...

, Majerle (5) , Gund Arena
16,419 , 0–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , April 27 , New York
L 80–84
,

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(12) , Gund Arena
17,232 , 0–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 3 , May 1 , @ New York
L 76–81
,

(19) ,

(12) ,

(7) , Madison Square Garden
19,763 , 0–3 , -

Player stats

Regular season

Playoffs

Player Statistics Citation:

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Milestones

All-Star

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Development League

References

Cleveland Cavaliers on Database Basketball

{{DEFAULTSORT:1995-96 Cleveland Cavaliers Season Cleveland Cavaliers seasons Cleve Cleve