As the Cavaliers move through the history of No. 6, the number carries a strange place in Cleveland’s story. It isn’t hanging in the rafters for the Cavs, but it will never be used in the NBA again for one man.
The league retired No. 6 across every franchise after the death of Bill Russell, the 11-time NBA champion. Following his death in 2022, the NBA chose to honor Russell’s life and his role in the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, when he played.
That decision left only one NBA player still wearing the number, since active players were not required to change their current numbers.
In Cleveland, No. 6 eventually belonged to a familiar face in a very different way. Although his No. 22 is retired by the Cavs, when he was traded to Cleveland in 1988 he was originally blocked from wearing 22 because it had been retired for Jim Chones. He was given No. 6 as a temporary placeholder until the switch could be made.
He never actually played an official game in No. 6 because of how quickly he became popular in Cleveland. Cavs owner Ted Stepien allowed the change, and he went on to wear the number fans know him for.
Before that, the first Cavalier to wear No. 6 was Mitchell Butler, who did it much later in franchise history. Butler wore the number in 49 games and averaged 4.2 points per game, while also shooting nearly 40% from three.
There was also Bobby Brown, later known around the league as a high-flying player with the Lakers. He spent his first season and a half in Cleveland before being included in a massive 11-player trade that brought Ben Wallace and Wally Szczerbiak to the Bulls. In his time with the Cavs, Brown played 38 games and averaged 5 points.
Manny Harris may have been the player who wore No. 6 the most in Cleveland. He appeared in 80 games for the Cavs and averaged 6.2 points.
Harris also was involved in one of the more memorable incidents tied to the number. While using a cryo chamber for recovery, he suffered burns on his feet so severe that the Cavs released him afterward.
Andrew Bogut’s Cleveland stint was even shorter. His career there lasted 58 seconds before he was released. He entered his first game and, in less than a minute, his season ended when he fractured his tibia while defending a three-pointer.
More recently, JaVale McGee wore No. 6 under JB Bickerstaff and often supplied those “Point-Javale” minutes. In 33 games, he averaged 8 points and 5 boards before being traded at the deadline that season.
Other players to wear the number in Cleveland included Ben Uzoh, Jerome Moiso, Earl Clark, Moses Brown, and Kevin Pangos.
In Other News...
Cavaliers Are Betting Big On James Harden Again
James Harden is back in the Cavaliers' plans in a major way, and Cleveland is treating last season's trade as more than a one-year swing. After arriving from the LA Clippers, Harden settled in as a steady secondary engine behind Donovan Mitchell, putting up 20.5 points and 7.7 assists per game in the regular season while giving the Cavs another proven organizer on the perimeter. Bleacher Reports latest creator rankings back up the idea that he still belongs in that upper tier of shot-makers and playmakers heading into 2026-27.
The bigger signal came this offseason, when Cleveland brought Harden back on a new deal and appears ready to start him alongside Mitchell, Peyton Watson, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. For a roster built around size, shot creation and half-court execution, the fit is obvious enough. The remaining question is how much juice Harden still has left as the Cavaliers lean on him again for a top-end role rather than just a useful piece. [Read more 🡒]
Cavs Roster Is Set But Fringe Decisions Still Stand Out
The Cavaliers have finished the last bit of roster housekeeping ahead of the regular season, with NBA.coms transaction log showing a round of Exhibit 10 cuts that clears the path for opening night. Cleveland now moves forward with a group built around 14 standard contracts and two-way support, the kind of structure teams use when the big-picture roster is already set and the final decisions are about depth, flexibility and keeping the developmental pipeline in place.
For the players who were waived, the next step is expected to be a familiar one in the G League. For the Cavs, the more relevant part is what those moves confirm: the club is heading into the season with its core intact and only fringe spots left to sort through, a reminder that even after the main roster picture is complete, the margins still matter for a team trying to keep itself ready over the long haul. [Read more 🡒]
Cavs Add Developmental Big As System Depth Takes Shape
After a summer run with the Cavaliers in Summer League, TreVon Spillers has landed an Exhibit-10 contract with Cleveland, a move that points more toward the organizations developmental pipeline than the NBA roster. The signing gives the Cavs a chance to keep a look at a big man who has already bounced through a winding college path, with his most recent work coming over the past two seasons at Wake Forest after earlier stops at JUCO and Appalachian State.
For Cleveland, the value is in system depth. Exhibit-10 deals are designed to funnel players into the G-League track, and Spillers is expected to spend his time with the Cleveland Charge, where the staff can keep molding him without taking up a standard roster spot. It is the kind of low-risk, internal move teams make when they want another big in the building and more continuity between the NBA club and its affiliate. [Read more 🡒]