The Cleveland Cavaliers franchise may only be 54 years old, but they’ve still had some all-time great players appear in a Cavalier uniform during their history.

Let’s look back at some of the best players in team history who eventually had their jersey numbers retired by the organization after their playing careers ended.

In total, the Cavs have retired eight different jersey numbers, which hang in the rafters of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Brad Daugherty has the argument and resume to be considered the best power forward in Cleveland history. He played eight seasons with the Cavaliers and averaged 19.0 points and 9.5 rebounds in 546 games.

The power forward has left his mark on the organization and sits fourth on the all-time rebounds list with 5,227.

Nate Thurmond finished his historic NBA career as a member of the Cavaliers. He averaed 5.0 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in the two years he spent in Cleveland, and those seaons weren’t nearly as impactful as his season with the San Francisco Warriors, but Cleveland wanted to recognize the legacy he left on the game of NBA.

Some consider Austin Carr to be the best shooting guard in Cavaliers franchise history. (However, something tells me Donovan Mitchell will have something to say about that when it’s all said and done.)

Carr was not only one of the best pure scorers on the Cavaliers during his time in Cleveland but one of the best in the NBA. He averaged 16.2 points while shooting 45 percent from the floor. Those numbers could look even better if he had the three-point line for his entire career.

Recognizing his contribution to the franchise, the Cavaliers have officially retied the number 34.

Mark Price spent nine seasons in Cleveland and was a part of the legendary 90s teams that constantly made playoff runs.

The four-time All-Star averaged 16.4 points while shooting 48 percent from the floor and 40 percent from behind the arc. Price also averaged 7.2 assists a game with the Cavaliers and, to this day, has the second-most assists in club history with 4,206.

Larry Nance did a little bit of everything when he was on the floor. During his eight seasons in Cleveland, he averaged 16.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks a game and was a slo voted to an All-NBA defense first team.

This one has an asterisk because the number came out of retirement, but for a good reason. When Nance’s son, Larry Nance Jr, was a member of the Cavs, we wore the number “22” to keep the family legacy going.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas, or “Big Z,” is easily the best center in Cavaliers history. During his time with the Cavs, he averaged 13.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks.

Loyalty also has to come into play when a team decides if they’re going to retire a player’s number. No one was more loyal than Ilgauskas, who spent 12 long seasons with the Cavs and is still part of the organization today.

The Cavalier’s first true star was Bingo Smith, who was part of the first-ever Wine and Gold roster. He spent the next 10 seasons with the Cavs, averaging 13.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists.

Smith’s number being retired is a nice nod to the franchise’s history.

Bill Russell never played for the Cavaliers. However, after his passing, his number “6” was retired across the NBA.

Neither LeBron James nor Kevin Love have their jersey numbers in the rafters … yet. However, Dan Gilbert promised to retire LeBron’s “23” after his playing days were over and made a similar commitment to Love’s number “0.”

The Cleveland Guardians struck first against the Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the ALDS. The first run of the game was thanks to none other than Jose Ramirez who put the ball in play down the third base line which got past Zach McKinstry.

However, the play’s original scoring was an error, and while Cleveland still took the lead, Ramirez wasn’t credited with the RBI.

The play was scored that Ramirez reached base on a fielder’s choice and then an error, which meant he technically started the game 0-1 from the plate. However, after the game was finished, the Guardians petitioned MLB to review the play and change it to a hit for Ramirez.

After the review, MLB honored the request and changed the original scoring to credit Ramirez for the double and RBI. Another repercussion of this decision is that Detoirt’s starter, Tyler Holton, now gets another earned run tacked onto his final box score.

This also slightly raised Ramirez’s career playoff batting average. Before, he was hitting .236 in the postseason, but now that’s been raised to .244.

This is likely the right call, and it’s nice to see MLB correct the original decision.

Jose smoked this ball as it came off the bat at 93.3 mph. It clearly had some nasty spin on it, too. Did McKinstry misplay it slightly? Sure. But the ball also took a last-second bounce, which is what really allowed it to get past him. Crediting McKinstry with an error doesn’t seem a little harsh when watching the replay.

Jose Ramirez had a record-setting and milestone-reaching regular season with the Cleveland Guardians. He climbed up the franchise’s all-time home runs list and was one home run shy of a 40-40 season, just to name a few.

It only makes sense that this record-setting year would also carry over into the playoffs, and that’s exactly what happened.

Ramirez made franchise history when he took the field in Game of the ALDS against the Detroit Tigers, officially making his sixth playoff appearance with Cleveland. This makes him tied for the most postseason appearances in team history.

The others on that list at Kenny Lofton (1996-’96, 1998-’99, 2001, 2007), Jim Thome (1995-’99, 2001), and Omar Vizquel (1995-’99, 2001).

This stat is even more impressive because 2024 was his twelfth season in the big leagues. That means he’s reached the postseason in half the years he’s been in the majors, which is a testament to how consistently good he and the team have been over the last decade.

For as consistent as J-Ram has been in the regular season, the cumulative postseason stats don’t seem as impressive on the surface.

In his six postseason appearances, Ramirez has hit .236/.290/.339 with an OPS of .629. However, his 2017 playoff performance has dragged down many of those stats. In 2022, the last time he was in the playoffs, Ramirez hit .333/.344/.500 with a .844 OPS.

Ramirez is signed with the Guardians through the 2028 season, and it feels pretty likely the 32-year-old will finish his career in Cleveland. This means he has numerous opportunities in the future to have the most playoff appearances in franchise history.