With 28 days left before the Cavaliers tip off the regular season, the number has a pretty clear shape in franchise history: it has belonged to one man, and one man only. Alfonzo McKinnie is the lone Cavalier to wear No. 28, and his stint in Cleveland was short enough to fit into a tidy footnote - but it still gives the number a place in the team’s story.
McKinnie spent one season with the Cavs and appeared in 40 games, averaging 4.4 points per game. He was the definition of a basketball journeyman, moving through five NBA teams in five seasons. The number followed him almost everywhere, too; he wore No. 28 on every team except the Toronto Raptors, where he used 34.
His path to the league stretched far beyond the NBA. Over 11 years as a pro, he played in the US/Canada (NBA), Italy, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, and Luxembourg, where his first professional team was the East Side Pirates. He said that club was the worst team in the worst division of basketball in the country, and he nearly walked away from the game during that stretch.
The NBA opportunity came through the G-League, and it started with a small price tag. Just $175 bought him a tryout with the Windy City Bulls, and he made the team in 2016, keeping his NBA dream alive.
If No. 28 doesn’t carry the same rough edge as 29 for Cleveland, there are at least a few brighter memories tied to it. One of the biggest came during the Cavs’ first NBA Finals run since 2007 against the Golden State Warriors.
Late-playoff injuries had already piled up, with Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving both dealing with issues, and then LeBron James went down in Game 4 as well. That opened the door for Timofey Mozgov’s 28-point performance.
Even that night ended badly for Cleveland, as Coach David Blatt said the team was tired after a 103-82 loss.
The broader history around the number is more favorable than that single game. Since 1998, Cleveland has either finished as a top-four seed or missed the playoffs entirely in each of the 28 seasons since then. They have not landed in the 5, 6, 7, or 8 seed range during that stretch.
Keeping that run going this season will not be easy. The Eastern Conference teams around them made major moves, and it will take everybody at their best just to crack the top six.
There is also a cleaner historical marker hanging over the franchise as a whole. Cleveland’s first season was in 1971, and across 56 years the Cavaliers have finished above .500 28 times.
If things go as planned this year, they can avoid the 28th losing season, too. One thing they have never done: finish a season at exactly .500.
In Other News...
Cavs Just Opened A Door For A Familiar Camp Longshot
Rashaun Agee has gone from Cavaliers Summer League participant to a training camp contract, giving Cleveland another big body to evaluate as camp approaches. Agee brought the kind of traits that can keep a front office interested even without a polished offensive rsum, using his size, rebounding and defense to stand out during his time with the team this summer.
The catch is the roster math still matters, and the Cavs do not have any two-way spots open right now. So Agee is heading into camp with a chance to keep climbing, likely by carving out a path through a G-League deal and then working his way toward a two-way opportunity later if he can keep impressing. [Read more 🡒]
Cavs Get Their First Real Test With A Reshaped Camp Roster
The Cavaliers have put together a training camp roster that gives this fall a different feel, with four new invitees joining the mix as the team heads overseas to start work in Andalusia, Spain. Guards Kadary Richmond and Curtis Jones, along with forwards Zack Austin and Rashaun Agee, are among the fresh faces in a group that still centers on Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
Camp begins Sept. 29 and includes practices and a scrimmage before the team returns to the United States for preseason games, so this trip should offer Cleveland its first real chance to sort out rotations and chemistry in a live setting. With a reshaped group and a handful of newcomers in the building, the early weeks of camp figure to matter for both evaluation and fit as the Cavaliers start laying the groundwork for the season. [Read more 🡒]
Cavaliers Camp Could Decide Which Young Players Actually Stick
Training camp is going to matter a little more than usual for the Cavaliers young group, with Thomas, NaeQwan Tomlin, Proctor, Porter Jr. and Watson all expected to be in the mix for playing time. Cleveland has enough established pieces to know its shape at the top, but the real intrigue is at the edges of the roster, where these younger players will get a chance to show whether recent flashes can turn into something sturdier.
Preseason is likely to be the cleanest evaluation window for all five, especially with the 2026-27 season in mind. Strong camp work and real game minutes could help separate the players who are ready to stick from the ones who still need more time, and for a group like this, the margins are going to be thin. The Cavaliers do not need all of them to pop, but they do need a few to make a convincing case before the competition gets too crowded. [Read more 🡒]