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Cavs To Retire #11 on March 8th, 2014

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Pyro

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http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/team/1382378404-348-927/cleveland-cavaliers-will-retire-zydrunas.html

The Cavaliers will retire Zydrunas Ilgauskas' No. 11 jersey on March 8 in a game against the New York Knicks at The Q.

Most of the details have yet to be worked out, and tickets for that game won't be on sale until Dec. 7. But it will be a night to remember as the team salutes one of its most popular players. Ilgauskas, a two-time All-Star, who is the team's all-time leader in games played (771), total rebounds (5,904), offensive rebounds (2,336) and blocked shots (1,269), is now a special assistant to general manager Chris Grant.
Ilgauskas will be the seventh Cavalier to have his number retired, and the first since Mark Price's No. 25 in 1999. Other players so honored include Nate Thurmond (42), Bingo Smith (7), Austin Carr (34), Larry Nance (22) and Brad Daugherty (43).
 
I'm definitely going to that game
 
I'm sure most people's thoughts are "What took them so long?"
 
It's nice and certainly deserved.

That said, the Cavaliers further increase their hold on their title: "Team with most retired numbers that has never won an NBA Championship."
 
Definitely going. Huge plus is that it's on my birthday.
 
This was one of the games I was debating on going to in March. Makes it an easy choice now.
 
Why is Nate Thurmond's number retired? IIRC he only played two seasons with the Cavs, but he was way before my time so I don't know if he did anything special.
 
Chris Grant on Z:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Grant: &quot;His jersey hanging in The Q will be a permanent reflection of all that he has meant to the entire organization and Cleveland.&quot;</p>&mdash; Scott @ WFNY (@WFNYScott) <a href="https://twitter.com/WFNYScott/statuses/392388796677095424">October 21, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Dan Gilbert on Z:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Dan Gilbert: &quot;Zydrunas Ilgauskas is not only one of the best basketball players to ever wear a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform...&quot;</p>&mdash; Scott @ WFNY (@WFNYScott) <a href="https://twitter.com/WFNYScott/statuses/392389041754476545">October 21, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>&quot;...he is also one of the finest human beings that has ever been associated with the franchise.&quot;</p>&mdash; Scott @ WFNY (@WFNYScott) <a href="https://twitter.com/WFNYScott/statuses/392389164815364096">October 21, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
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Why is Nate Thurmond's number retired? IIRC he only played two seasons with the Cavs, but he was way before my time so I don't know if he did anything special.

Sometimes it's hard to explain these situations to misinformed fans, but someone like Nate Thurmond wasn't about a long career here.

It was his impact. He was a sole reason the Miracle of Richfield could even be considered today one of the best things in Cleveland history. It gave Clevelanders hope. Similar to Mark Acquire giving the pistons a championship, that's the type of impact that Nate had. We were up perennial contender, if only for one season.
 
I don't think he deserves to have it retired. They should only retire the numbers of legends. He made the all-star game twice, and barely played in the one game because he didn't belong in it. I bet if he didn't have any foot surgeries, he wouldn't be getting his number retired. 13 ppg and 7 rpg average. I'm fully expecting Varejao to have his his number retired now.
 
I don't think he deserves to have it retired. They should only retire the numbers of legends. He made the all-star game twice, and barely played in the one game because he didn't belong in it. I bet if he didn't have any foot surgeries, he wouldn't be getting his number retired. 13 ppg and 7 rpg average. I'm fully expecting Varejao to have his his number retired now.

If he didn't have any foot injuries, he would have done better than two all-star games and would have done even better for the franchise.
 
Why is Nate Thurmond's number retired? IIRC he only played two seasons with the Cavs, but he was way before my time so I don't know if he did anything special.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VXZXGB9Xxs

Starting at 5:45, Austin Carr talks about Nate's influence on the team in the miracle year...

He propably means the game on December 19, 1975 in which the Cavs were down by only 10 at halftime (as opposed to being down by 20) and beat the Suns by 10 in the 2nd half to force overtime which they won...
 
I don't think he deserves to have it retired. They should only retire the numbers of legends. He made the all-star game twice, and barely played in the one game because he didn't belong in it. I bet if he didn't have any foot surgeries, he wouldn't be getting his number retired. 13 ppg and 7 rpg average. I'm fully expecting Varejao to have his his number retired now.

Big Z is getting his number retired for equal parts of his play and the way he loved the city. He was a pros pro and saw our team go through some pretty dark times and still stuck with us. In my lifetime, there is no Cav who deserves to have his number retired more than Z, even LBJ.
 

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