The score from Nov. 13, 1999, probably faded fast for a lot of the 18,640 fans inside Gund Arena. The moment at halftime did not.
That was when Cleveland lifted Mark Price’s No. 25 into the rafters, making him the sixth player in franchise history to receive the honor. He joined Austin Carr, Bingo Smith, Nate Thurmond and two of the best finishers from his own passing lanes, Larry Nance and Brad Daugherty.
Joe Tait handled the ceremony, and the line that fit the night best still rings out: “There will never be another Cleveland Cavalier to wear No. 25.”
The Cavs marked the occasion by giving Price a piece of the floor from the old Richfield Coliseum. He thanked the crowd with a simple message: “I always wanted to give my all on the court for you,” and then, just as plainly, “I loved playing here.”
Price’s game gave Cleveland plenty to love. When defenses trapped him, he had a way of slipping through the middle and turning pressure into points for someone else.
If the lane opened, he could rise into a three before anyone could get organized. That shot was a big part of what made him so dangerous, and it was a shot coaches were far more willing to live with when it came from him.
His résumé backed it all up. Price won the 3-Point Shootout at All-Star Weekend in 1993 and 1994.
He made four All-Star teams and four All-NBA teams. In 1988-89, he became one of only two players at the time, along with Larry Bird, to post a 50-40-90 season.
His 90.6 percent free-throw mark as a Cavalier remains the franchise record, and his 90.4 percent over 12 NBA seasons still ranks third all-time.
Cleveland got Price in a draft-night trade after Dallas selected him in the second round, and that deal aged just fine. Wayne Embry, the general manager who made it, spoke at the ceremony, as did Bobby Cremins, Price’s coach at Georgia Tech.
There was also a game that night, and the Cavs beat the Bucks 117-112. Shawn Kemp and rookie Andre Miller were in Cleveland’s lineup, while Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson were on the other side.
But for plenty of people in the building, the second half was almost beside the point. No. 25 had already owned the night.
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