1997–98 Cleveland Cavaliers season

The 1997–98 NBA season was the 28th season of the National Basketball Association in Cleveland, Ohio.^[1] With the departure of their top players from last season, the Cavaliers added youth to their roster, with the addition of last season's first round draft pick Zydrunas Ilgauskas from Lithuania, who missed all of last season with a foot injury, top draft pick Derek Anderson from the University of Kentucky, first round draft pick Brevin Knight out of Stanford University, and second round draft pick Cedric Henderson from the University of Memphis in the 1997 NBA draft.^[2][3][4][5] In the off-season, the team acquired All-Star forward Shawn Kemp from the Seattle SuperSonics in a three-team trade,^{[6][7][8][9][10]} acquired Wesley Person from the Phoenix Suns in another three-team trade,^{[11][12][13][14]} and signed free agent Mitchell Butler.

1997–98 Cleveland Cavaliers season
Head coach	Mike Fratello
General manager	Wayne Embry
Owners	Gordon Gund George Gund III
Arena	Gund Arena
Results
Record	47–35 (.573)
Place	Division: 5th (Central) Conference: 6th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to Pacers 1–3)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	SportsChannel/Fox Sports Ohio WUAB
Radio	WTAM
< 1996–97 1998–99 >

The Cavaliers struggled with a 4–6 start to the season, as Bob Sura went down with an ankle injury and only played just 46 games,^[15][16] and Butler was out for the remainder of the season with a neck injury after 18 games.^[17][18] However, the team posted a ten-game winning streak between November and December,^[19] and later on held a 27–20 record at the All-Star break.^[20] The Cavaliers played above .500 for the remainder of the season finishing 5th in the Central Division with a 47–35 record, qualifying for the playoffs after a one-year absence.^[21] The Cavaliers had the best team defensive rating in the NBA.^[22]

Kemp averaged 18.0 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, and was selected for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game, which would be his sixth and final All-Star appearance,^{[23][24][25][26][27]} while Person averaged 14.7 points and 1.6 steals per game, and also led the league with 192 three-point field goals. In addition, Ilgauskas averaged 13.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, and won the MVP award in the Rookie Game during the All-Star Weekend in New York City, New York,^{[28][29][30][31]} while Knight provided the team with 9.0 points, 8.2 assists, and led the league with 196 total steals, averaging 2.5 per game. Anderson contributed 11.7 points and 1.3 steals per game off the bench, playing 66 games due to a knee injury,^[32][33][34] while Henderson provided with 10.1 points per game, and second-year center Vitaly Potapenko averaged 7.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game off the bench.^[35]

Both Ilgauskas and Knight were named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, while Anderson and Henderson were both selected the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, and head coach Mike Fratello finished in third place in Coach of the Year voting.^[36][37][38]

However, in the Eastern Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Cavaliers would lose in four games to the Indiana Pacers,^{[39][40][41][42]} and they would not make it back to the postseason until 2006. For the season, the team slightly redesigned their uniforms, which remained in use until 1999.^[43][44]

Until 2023, this was the last time the Cavaliers made the playoffs without future All-Star LeBron James, who was selected by the team as the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft.

Offseason

Free agents

Trades

Draft picks

Main article: 1997 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	13	Derek Anderson	SG	United States	Kentucky
1	16*	Brevin Knight	PG	United States	Stanford
2	45	Cedric Henderson	SF	United States	Memphis

^*1st round pick acquired from Phoenix in three-way Antonio McDyess deal.^[45]

Roster

1997–98 Cleveland Cavaliers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From G/F 23 Anderson, Derek 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1974–07–18 Kentucky G 2 Brooks, Scott 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1965–07–31 UC Irvine G 6 Butler, Mitchell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1970–12–15 UCLA G 27 Dumas, Tony 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1972–08–25 UMKC F 35 Ferry, Danny 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1966–10–17 Duke F 45 Henderson, Cedric 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1975–03–11 Memphis C 11 Ilgauskas, Zydrunas 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 238 lb (108 kg) 1975–06–05 Lithuania F 32 James, Henry 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1965–07–29 St. Mary's (TX) F 4 Kemp, Shawn 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1969–11–26 Trinity Valley CC G 12 Knight, Brevin 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1975–11–08 Stanford G 1 Person, Wesley 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1971–03–28 Auburn C 52 Potapenko, Vitaly 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 280 lb (127 kg) 1975–03–21 Wright State C 44 Scott, Shawnelle 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1972–06–16 St. John's G 3 Sura, Bob 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1973–03–25 Florida State G 30 Thomas, Carl 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1969–10–03 Eastern Michigan

Head coach Mike Fratello Assistant coach(es) Marc Iavaroni Sidney Lowe Ron Rothstein Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: February 22, 1998

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Chicago Bulls	62	20	.756	–	37–4	25–16	21–7
x-Indiana Pacers	58	24	.707	4	32–9	26–15	19–9
x-Charlotte Hornets	51	31	.622	11	32–9	19–22	16–12
x-Atlanta Hawks	50	32	.610	12	29–12	21–20	19–9
x-Cleveland Cavaliers	47	35	.573	15	27–14	20–21	14–14
Detroit Pistons	37	45	.451	25	25–16	12–29	12–16
Milwaukee Bucks	36	46	.439	26	21–20	15–26	9–19
Toronto Raptors	16	66	.195	46	9–32	7–34	2–26

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Chicago Bulls	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Miami Heat	55	27	.671	7
3	x-Indiana Pacers	58	24	.707	4
4	x-Charlotte Hornets	51	31	.622	11
5	x-Atlanta Hawks	50	32	.610	12
6	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	47	35	.573	15
7	x-New York Knicks	43	39	.524	19
8	x-New Jersey Nets	43	39	.524	19
9	Washington Wizards	42	40	.512	20
10	Orlando Magic	41	41	.500	21
11	Detroit Pistons	37	45	.451	25
12	Boston Celtics	36	46	.439	26
12	Milwaukee Bucks	36	46	.439	26
14	Philadelphia 76ers	31	51	.378	31
15	Toronto Raptors	16	66	.195	46

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1997-98 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	VAN	WAS
Atlanta	–	2–1	4–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–3	3–1	0–2	1–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	4–0
Boston	1–2	–	1–2	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–0	0–2	2–0	3–2
Charlotte	0–4	2–1	–	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
Chicago	3–1	3–1	3–1	–	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–1	4–0	1–1	4–0	4–0	3–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	3–1
Cleveland	0–4	3–1	2–2	2–2	–	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	1–2
Dallas	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	–	3–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–1	0–4	4–0	1–1
Denver	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	–	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1
Detroit	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–0	2–0	–	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–2	2–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	0–2	0–2	2–2
Golden State	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	3–1	0–2	–	1–3	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2
Houston	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	–	1–1	4–0	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–0	0–4	3–1	1–1
Indiana	3–1	4–0	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	–	2–0	0–2	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–1	2–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	4–0
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	–	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–4	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	–	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	4–0	1–3	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1
Miami	3–1	4–0	1–3	1–2	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	–	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
Milwaukee	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–3	–	1–1	0–4	3–1	2–1	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–2
Minnesota	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	4–0	0–4	1–1	1–1	–	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2
New Jersey	2–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2	–	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3
New York	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–4	2–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–2	–	4–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3
Orlando	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–2	2–0	1–3	0–4	–	4–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	3–1
Philadelphia	1–3	1–3	1–2	1–2	1–3	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	0–4	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	–	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	3–1
Phoenix	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	4–0	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	–	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1
Portland	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	–	3–1	2–2	0–4	2–0	3–1	2–2	1–1
Sacramento	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–3	–	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1
San Antonio	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	3–1	0–4	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–2	4–0	–	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1
Seattle	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	3–1	2–2	–	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1
Toronto	0–4	0–3	0–4	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–0	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	–	0–2	1–1	0–3
Utah	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–0	–	4–0	0–2
Vancouver	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	3–1	2–0	3–1	1–3	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	1–1	0–4	–	1–1
Washington	0–4	2–3	2–2	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–0	2–0	1–1	—

Game log

1997–98 game log Total: 47–35 (home: 27–14; road: 20–21)
October: 0-1 (home: 0–0; road: 0–1) Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
November: 9-5 (home: 4–3; road: 5–2) Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
December: 8-5 (home: 4–3; road: 4–2) Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
January: 9-7 (home: 5–3; road: 4–4) Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
February: 4-9 (home: 2–3; road: 2–6) Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
March: 11-4 (home: 7–1; road: 4–3) Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
April: 6-4 (home: 5–1; road: 1–3) Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record

Playoffs

1998 playoff game log
First round: 1–3 (home: 1–1; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 23 @ Indiana L 77–106 Shawn Kemp (25) Shawn Kemp (13) Brevin Knight (5) Market Square Arena 16,644 0–1 2 April 25 @ Indiana L 86–92 Shawn Kemp (27) Zydrunas Ilgauskas (10) Brevin Knight (7) Market Square Arena 16,617 0–2 3 April 27 Indiana W 86–77 Shawn Kemp (31) Kemp, Knight (7) three players tied (5) Gund Arena 17,495 1–2 4 April 30 Indiana L 74–80 Shawn Kemp (21) Shawn Kemp (12) Brevin Knight (6) Gund Arena 18,188 1–3
1998 schedule

Player stats

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Shawn Kemp	80	80	34.6	44.5	25.0	72.7	9.3	2.5	1.4	1.1	18.0
Wesley Person	82	82	39.0	46.0	43.0	77.6	4.4	2.3	1.6	0.6	14.7
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	82	81	29.0	51.8	25.0	76.2	8.8	0.9	0.6	1.6	13.9
Derek Anderson	66	13	27.9	40.8	20.2	87.3	2.8	3.4	1.3	0.2	11.7
Cedric Henderson	82	71	30.8	48.0	0.0	71.6	4.0	2.0	1.2	0.5	10.1
Brevin Knight	80	76	31.0	44.1	0.0	80.1	3.2	8.2	2.5	0.2	9.0
Vitaly Potapenko	80	0	17.7	48.0	0.0	70.8	3.9	0.7	0.3	0.4	7.1
Bob Sura	46	4	20.5	37.7	31.7	56.5	2.0	3.7	1.0	0.2	5.8
Danny Ferry	69	3	15.0	39.5	33.3	80.0	1.7	0.9	0.4	0.2	4.2
Henry James	28	0	5.9	40.7	44.0	95.5	0.5	0.2	0.0	0.0	2.9
Carl Thomas	29	0	9.4	38.6	39.5	61.5	1.3	0.3	0.6	0.2	2.7
Greg Graham	6	0	9.3	58.3	0.0	100.0	0.2	1.0	0.2	0.0	2.7
Mitchell Butler	18	0	11.4	31.9	16.7	60.0	1.2	1.0	0.4	0.0	2.1
Tony Dumas	7	0	6.7	50.0	50.0	0.0	0.7	0.7	0.0	0.0	2.0
Scott Brooks	43	0	7.3	42.4	45.5	90.0	0.7	1.1	0.4	0.1	1.8
Shawnelle Scott	41	0	4.6	44.4	0.0	66.7	1.4	0.2	0.1	0.2	1.1

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Shawn Kemp	4	4	38.0	46.5	0.0	84.4	10.3	2.0	1.3	1.0	26.0
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	4	4	36.8	57.1	0.0	52.0	7.5	0.5	0.5	1.3	17.3
Derek Anderson	4	0	25.8	45.5	0.0	88.5	2.3	2.8	1.3	0.3	10.8
Wesley Person	4	4	34.0	37.9	36.8	75.0	2.3	2.5	0.8	0.0	8.0
Cedric Henderson	4	4	39.3	39.3	0.0	61.5	4.3	2.8	1.5	0.0	7.5
Brevin Knight	4	4	33.0	28.6	0.0	60.0	4.0	5.8	2.5	0.3	4.5
Vitaly Potapenko	4	0	17.5	40.0	0.0	50.0	2.8	0.8	0.5	0.0	4.3
Carl Thomas	1	0	11.0	0.0	0.0	66.7	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0
Scott Brooks	1	0	8.0	0.0	0.0	100.0	0.0	2.0	0.0	0.0	2.0
Shawnelle Scott	1	0	3.0	50.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	2.0
Bob Sura	3	0	10.3	20.0	0.0	66.7	1.0	1.3	0.3	0.0	1.3
Danny Ferry	3	0	3.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Player Statistics Citation:^[35]

Awards and records

Awards

• Zydrunas Ilgauskas, NBA All-Rookie First Team
• Brevin Knight, NBA All-Rookie First Team
• Derek Anderson, NBA All-Rookie Second Team
• Cedric Henderson, NBA All-Rookie Second Team

Records

Milestones

All-Star

Shawn Kemp – 1998 NBA All-Star Game

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Development League

References

1. 1997-98 Cleveland Cavaliers
2. Heisler, Mark (June 26, 1997). "Draft Over, But Not Finished". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
3. "First Round Selections in the 1997 NBA Draft Wednesday in Charlotte, N.C." Hartford Courant. June 26, 1997. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
4. Reed, William F. (November 10, 1997). "No. 8: Cleveland Cavaliers". Sports Illustrated Vault. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
5. "1997 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
6. Roberts, Selena (September 26, 1997). "PRO BASKETBALL; Sonics' Kemp Gets Wish and Is Traded, to Cavs". The New York Times. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
7. Baker, Chris (September 26, 1997). "Kemp Is Key Player in Three-Way Trade". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
8. Sherwin, Bob (September 26, 1997). "Shawn Kemp Moves On -- Reign Comes to an End -- Kemp Is a Cav, Baker Is a Sonic After 3-Way Deal". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
9. "Kemp Is Traded to Cavaliers in Three-Way Deal". The Washington Post. September 26, 1997. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
10. "Sonics Send Kemp to Cavs in 3-Way Deal". Deseret News. Associated Press. September 26, 1997. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
11. Berger, Ken (October 1, 1997). "Nuggets Send McDyess to Phoenix". Associated Press. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
12. "PLUS: IN THE NEWS -- PRO BASKETBALL; McDyess to Suns in Three-Team Deal". The New York Times. Associated Press. October 2, 1997. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
13. "Suns Make Trade for McDyess". Los Angeles Times. Staff and Wire Reports. October 2, 1997. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
14. "Nuggets Deal McDs to Phoenix". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. October 2, 1997. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
15. Johnson, L.C. (November 20, 1997). "Grant Hurt". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
16. "Ankle in Cast, Cavaliers' Sura Out for Weeks". Times Leader. Associated Press. December 10, 1997. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
17. "N.B.A.: YESTERDAY; Jordan's 47 Lead Bulls Into First". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 28, 1997. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
18. "Around the NBA". The Washington Post. December 31, 1997. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
19. "N.B.A.: LAST NIGHT; Cleveland Wins It at the Line". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 12, 1997. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
20. "NBA Games Played on February 5, 1998". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
21. "1997–98 Cleveland Cavaliers Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
22. "Teams Defense". NBA.com. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
23. Armour, Terry (January 26, 1998). "Jordan Top All-Star Vote-Getter; Bryant, 19, Youngest Ever Picked". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
24. Howard-Cooper, Scott (January 28, 1998). "Lakers Get Four-Star Rating as Van Exel, Jones Honored". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
25. "1998 NBA All-Star Recap". NBA.com. NBA.com Staff. September 13, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
26. "1997-98 All-Star Events and Contestants - in New York". Eskimo North. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
27. "1998 NBA All-Star Game: East 135, West 114". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
28. Popper, Steve (February 8, 1998). "N.B.A. ALL-STAR WEEKEND: Kids Slam and Ham, But a Grown-Up Shoots for Dough; Houston Pair Win in 2Ball". The New York Times. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
29. Howard-Cooper, Scott (February 8, 1998). "Jordan Under the Weather, and Stern Is Under the Gun". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
30. "All-Star Show Slow Out of Blocks". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. February 8, 1998. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
31. "1998 NBA Rising Stars: East 85, West 80". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
32. "N.B.A.: LAST NIGHT; Ilgauskas Scores 32 to Lead the Cavs". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 1, 1998. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
33. Thompson, Jack (March 5, 1998). "Cavs' Anderson Returns". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
34. "Like Magic, Anderson Back and Orlando Gets a Victory". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. March 5, 1998. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
35. "1997–98 Cleveland Cavaliers Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
36. "Bird Named Coach of the Year". The Washington Post. Associated Press. May 12, 1998. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
37. Jorgensen, Loren (May 12, 1998). "Coach of Year - Sloan's Second to None and One". Deseret News. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
38. "Bird Draws Top Honor in His Rookie Season". Los Angeles Times. Times Wire Services. May 13, 1998. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
39. "N.B.A.: PLAYOFFS; Cleveland Ousted". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 1, 1998. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
40. "Indiana Seizes the Opportunity to Oust Young, Pesky Opponent". Deseret News. Associated Press. May 1, 1998. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
41. "Knicks, Heat Slug It Out Again". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. May 1, 1998. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
42. "1998 NBA Eastern Conference First Round: Cavaliers vs. Pacers". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
43. "Cleveland Cavaliers Uniform". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
44. "Cleveland Cavaliers Uniform". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
45. SUNS: Suns Rise Again in West

• Cleveland Cavaliers on Database Basketball
• Cleveland Cavaliers on Basketball Reference