Anderson Varejao’s Comfort With LeBron James Helped Him Win Starting Center Job

Anderson Varejao won the Cavaliers’ starting center job in part because of his chemistry with LeBron James.

The Cleveland Cavaliers announced Friday that Anderson Varejao had won the starting center job over Tristan Thompson.

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Not surprisingly, the Cavs’ decision was based heavily on what would make the game easier for LeBron James. LeBron and Varejao were teammates when Varejao entered in the NBA in 2004 until 2010 and their comfortability with one another helped push Varejao over the top for the starting gig, according to Cavs coach David Blatt.

From ESPN:

"“That was more or less the idea of beginning with Andy just because those two guys are so good together,” Blatt said. “And Tristan is equally as efficient in either case. So, that’s more or less the basis, but it doesn’t mean that Tristan won’t be starting some of the games. I’m sure he will be. Just right now, that’s the way we’re looking to go.”"

It’s hard to fault the Cavaliers for their decision. With the team likely to deal with chemistry issues to start the season, sticking with a 10-year veteran that has a great relationship with LeBron makes a lot of sense.

"Reflecting on his relationship with Varejao, with whom he teamed to reach the 2007 Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, James said it has been “like riding a bike” to be around him again.“If you’ve seen some of the preseason games we played in, it’s like we never missed a beat,” James said."

Varejao averaged 8.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game this past season.

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