The

2003–04 NBA season The 2003–04 NBA season was the 58th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Detroit Pistons defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 4–1 in the 2004 NBA Finals. Events This was the last season for the original two-div ...

was the 34th 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 S ...

Cleveland, Ohio 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. ...

. In the years following their 1998 first-round playoff loss to the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

, the Cavaliers dropped to the bottom of the league and became a perennial entrant in the annual NBA Draft Lottery. The franchise's freefall bottomed out during the 2002–03 season, as the Cavs fell to a 17–65 record, tied with the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

for the league's worst. However, the fortunes of the franchise shifted dramatically in May 2003, when the Cavs won the first overall pick in the draft lottery. The Cavaliers selected high school phenom

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...

from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in nearby

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

, providing the team with a centerpiece player around which to build. The Cavaliers revised their look for the 2003–04 season, introducing a new logo and a variation on the wine and gold color scheme used by the club during the 1970s. Dark blue was also added as a trim color. Both the logo and uniforms lasted until 2010 during James' first stint in Cleveland before leaving the team to joined 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 (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

. He had controversially announced his departure from Cleveland in a nationally televised special on July 8, 2010. The team made major moves during the season, trading

Ricky Davis Tyree Ricardo Davis (born September 23, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who played twelve seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for University of Iowa. Biography Davis atten ...

, Chris Mihm, Michael Stewart and a second-round draft pick to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

in exchange for

Eric Williams Eric Eustace Williams (25 September 1911 – 29 March 1981) was a Trinidad and Tobago politician who is regarded by some as the "Father of the Nation", having led the then British Trinidad and Tobago, British Colony of Trinidad and Tobago to m ...

Tony Battie Demetrius Antonio Battie (born February 11, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He works as an analyst for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). High school and college career Battie attended S ...

, and

Kedrick Brown Albert Kedrick Brown (born March 18, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. Born and raised in Zachary, Louisiana, Brown played college basketball at Okaloosa-Walton Community College (now Northwest Florida State C ...

. Later,

Darius Miles Darius LaVar Miles (born October 9, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. The , forward was selected directly out of high school by the Los Angeles Clippers with the 3rd overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft. He was a Firs ...

was traded to the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

for

Jeff McInnis Jeff Lemans McInnis (born October 22, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA), in Greece Ruben Boumtje Boumtje Ruben Bertrand Boumtje-Boumtje (born May 20, 1978) is a Cameroonian professional basketball executive and former player who last served as the assistant general manager of the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League. He played college basketball ...

. The Cavaliers lost their first five games of the season, leading them to an awful 6–19 start. However, they played .500 basketball for the remainder of the season, finishing fifth in the Central Division with a 35–47 record. They fell just one game short of making 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 eithe ...

. James was named Rookie of the Year and selected to the All-Rookie First Team. Following the season, second-year forward

Carlos Boozer Carlos Austin Boozer Jr. (born November 20, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. The two-time NBA All-Star played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls, and Los Angeles Lakers, and then spent his last seas ...

signed as a free agent with the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

Offseason

Despite James being with Cleveland for the first season, Cleveland still did not make the playoffs, still needing improvement.

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

* Facing the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

in his first NBA game, LeBron James recorded 25 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals and

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles can ...

60% from the field.basketball-reference.com
James 2003-04 Game Log
accessed April 27, 2007. After recording a season-high 41 points against the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, James became the youngest player in league history to score 40 points in a game. He averaged 20.9 points, 5.9 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game for the season,nba.com
LeBron James: Player Info Page
, accessed April 27, 2007. and was named Rookie of the Year; becoming the first Cavalier and youngest NBA player to ever receive the award. He joined

Oscar Robertson Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Robertson played ...

and

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

as the only three players in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game in their rookie season.nba.com
LeBron James: NBA Bio
, accessed April 27, 2007. The Cavaliers improved by 18 wins and concluded the regular season with a 35–47 record, but failed to make the playoffs.basketball-reference.com
2003-04 Cleveland Cavaliers
accessed April 27, 2007.

Standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

, , ,

Player stats

Regular season

* Statistics include only games with the Cavaliers

Award winners

, Small Forward, Rookie of the Year *

, Small Forward, NBA All-Rookie First Team

References

Cleveland Cavaliers on Database Basketball

{{DEFAULTSORT:2003-04 Cleveland Cavaliers Season Cleveland Cavaliers seasons Cleve

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...