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50 free Cleveland Cavaliers trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Cleveland Cavaliers trivia quiz covers a franchise named by a newspaper contest that lost its first 15 games, staged the Miracle of Richfield in 1976, gave the NBA the Stepien Rule, built the Price–Daugherty–Nance teams that ran into Michael Jordan and The Shot, and then won the 2003 lottery and a hometown superstar. It covers LeBron James twice over — the first Finals in 2007, The Decision and Dan Gilbert's Comic Sans letter, the 26-game losing streak, the return in 2014, four straight Finals against Golden State and the 3–1 comeback sealed by The Block and Kyrie's three — and the years since: Donovan Mitchell's 71-point night, Evan Mobley's Defensive Player of the Year, the 15–0 start, plus Moondog, Sir C.C. and Rocket Arena. Questions run from easy to hard with the difficulty shown on each one. Every answer has been checked against a primary reference and each question carries its citation.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The Cavaliers entered the NBA in 1970 alongside which two other expansion teams?
Portland Trail Blazers and Buffalo Braves
The Braves later became the Clippers; Cleveland lost its first 15 games and never finished better than sixth in the East in its first five seasons.
Q 02How was the 'Cavaliers' name chosen in 1970?
A newspaper contest won by a fan
Jerry Tomko, father of future pitcher Brett Tomko, won The Plain Dealer's competition; 'Jays', 'Foresters' and 'Presidents' were the losing finalists.
Q 03In the 1976 'Miracle of Richfield', the Cavaliers beat which team in a seven-game series?
Washington Bullets
Dick Snyder's shot with four seconds left won Game 7 87–85; Jim Chones then broke his toe and the Cavs lost to Boston in the conference finals.
Q 04Which owner (1980–83) went through six coaches and prompted an NBA rule against trading successive first-round picks?
Ted Stepien
The rule bars teams from trading first-round picks in consecutive years; his three years cost $15 million and six coaches.
Q 05What stunt did the Cavs' owner stage from Cleveland's Terminal Tower in 1980?
Dropping softballs for players to catch
The outfielders were from his Cleveland Competitors softball team; several bystanders were reportedly hurt by wayward balls.
Q 06How many straight games did the Cavaliers lose across 1981–82 and 1982–83, then an NBA record?
24
The team went 15–67 in 1981–82 with four coaches; the Gund brothers bought the club from him in 1983.
Q 07Which Bulls star sank 'The Shot' over Craig Ehlo to eliminate the Cavaliers in the 1989 playoffs?
Michael Jordan
Cleveland had led by one with three seconds left in the deciding Game 5 of a 57-win season; Jordan seemed to hang in the air until Ehlo landed.
Q 08Which Hall of Fame coach led the 57-win 1988–89 Cavaliers, the franchise's best team to that point?
Lenny Wilkens
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame three times — as player, coach and member of the 1992 Dream Team.
Q 09Which Georgia Tech point guard was the sharpshooting star of the late-1980s and early-1990s Cavaliers?
Mark Price
One of the great free-throw shooters in history, he led the team to the 1992 Eastern Conference Finals.
Q 10Which Notre Dame guard, the first overall pick in 1971, is known to Cleveland fans as 'Mr. Cavalier'?
Austin Carr
He starred on the Miracle of Richfield team and now hosts the team's broadcasts.
Q 11Where did the Cavaliers play from 1974 to 1994?
Richfield Coliseum
The suburban arena sat among cornfields between Cleveland and Akron; the team moved downtown to Gund Arena in 1994.
Q 12How much did Dan Gilbert pay for the Cavaliers in a deal finalised in March 2005?
$375 million
The Quicken Loans founder hired Mike Brown and Danny Ferry that year and built around James and a Lithuanian centre.
Q 13Which team swept the Cavaliers in the franchise's first NBA Finals in 2007?
San Antonio Spurs
LeBron had carried them past Detroit with a 48-point Game 5; Tim Duncan's Spurs won their fourth title.
Q 21Which UNLV forward was the Cavaliers' surprise first overall pick in 2013?
Anthony Bennett
He is widely considered one of the biggest busts in draft history and was out of the NBA within four years.
Q 22Which power forward did the Cavaliers get from Minnesota in 2014 to join James and Irving?
Kevin Love
Number-one pick Andrew Wiggins went the other way; Love stayed in Cleveland until 2023.
Q 23The 2016 title was Cleveland's first major sports championship since which team's 1964 triumph?
The Browns
The drought was known as the 'Cleveland sports curse'; the parade drew well over a million people.
Q 14The 2008–09 Cavaliers set franchise records with how many wins and what home record?
66 and 39–2
They still lost the Eastern Conference Finals to Dwight Howard's Orlando Magic.
Q 15Which four-time champion centre joined the Cavaliers for the 2009–10 season?
Shaquille O'Neal
'Win a ring for the King' failed when Boston beat them in the second round, setting up LeBron's free agency.
Q 16What was the title of the July 2010 TV special in which LeBron James announced he was leaving for Miami?
The Decision
'I'm going to take my talents to South Beach' became a punchline; the show was broadcast from a Boys and Girls Club in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Q 17Dan Gilbert's furious open letter on LeBron's departure was published in which typeface?
Comic Sans
He called the move a 'cowardly betrayal' and guaranteed a title before Miami's — a promise that aged badly.
Q 18How long was the Cavaliers' losing streak in 2010–11, the third-longest in NBA history?
26 games
The 19-win team then won the 2011 lottery and drafted a point guard from Duke.
Q 19How many times did the Cavaliers win the number-one pick in the draft lottery between 2011 and 2014?
Three
The 2014 pick, Andrew Wiggins, was traded straight away for a veteran All-Star forward.
Q 20The Cavs' 2011 first overall pick was born in which country?
Australia
He was born in Melbourne to American parents and played one season at Duke.
Q 24The Cavaliers' 2016 Finals win over Golden State was the first time a team had done what?
Come back from 3–1 down to take the series
The Warriors had gone a record 73–9; LeBron's Block and a three-pointer over Curry with 53 seconds left decided Game 7.
Q 25'The Block' in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals saw LeBron James chase down and reject a layup by whom?
Andre Iguodala
The score was tied at 89 with 1:50 left; Kyrie Irving's three over Curry followed for a 92–89 lead.
Q 26Who hit the go-ahead three-pointer over Stephen Curry with 53 seconds left in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals?
Kyrie Irving
It made the score 92–89; the Warriors never scored again and Cleveland won 93–89.
Q 27How many straight NBA Finals did the Cavaliers reach after LeBron's 2014 return, all vs Golden State?
Four
They won only in 2016; James left for the Lakers after the 2018 sweep.
Q 28The Cavs' All-Star point guard was traded to which team in 2017 for Isaiah Thomas and other assets?
Boston Celtics
Thomas lasted months before a deadline overhaul brought Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr., son of the Cavs legend.
Q 29Which team did LeBron James join when he left Cleveland for the second time in 2018?
Los Angeles Lakers
He declined his player option; the Cavaliers won just 19 games in each of the next two seasons.
Q 30Which guard, nicknamed 'Spida', set the Cavaliers' single-game record with 71 points?
Donovan Mitchell
He arrived from Utah in 2022 and did it against Chicago that January.