2018–19 Cleveland Cavaliers season

The Cavaliers entered the season as the four-time defending Eastern Conference champion, and were coming off of an NBA Finals loss, in which they were swept by the Golden State Warriors in four games, the first Finals sweep since 2007, in which the Cavs were also swept, by the San Antonio Spurs.

[4] Without LeBron James, as with the 2010–11 season (James' first departure from Cleveland), the Cavaliers struggled to find a solid identity, ranking in the bottom 10 in all of points per game, opponent points per game, pace, offensive rating, and defensive rating.

The Cavaliers entered the 2018 NBA draft with the rights to the eighth overall pick, which originally belonged to the Brooklyn Nets.

[7] The Cavaliers used the pick to acquire point guard Collin Sexton, a freshman out of the University of Alabama.

[8] On July 1, 2018, LeBron James confirmed that he would be leaving the Cavaliers and signing a four-year, $154 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.