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3 NBA legends you forgot played for the Cleveland Cavaliers

By Brad Berreman

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 11: Walt "Clyde" Frazier attends Annual Charity Day Hosted By Cantor Fitzgerald, BGC and GFI - BGC Office – Inside on September 11, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Cantor Fitzgerald)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 11: Walt "Clyde" Frazier attends Annual Charity Day Hosted By Cantor Fitzgerald, BGC and GFI - BGC Office – Inside on September 11, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Cantor Fitzgerald) /
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Credit: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Credit: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images /

2. Shaquille O’Neal

“Shaq Diesel” was running on fumes by the time he was traded to Cleveland and teamed up with James for the 2009-10 season. At 37 years old and not in peak physical condition compared to his prime as one of the most singularly dominant big men ever, O’Neal played 53 games for the Cavaliers that season. He averaged 12.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. So he wasn’t deadweight, he was just a shell of what he was with the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers.

Why he was trying to chase a ring in Cleveland, in what would be the last year James was there before leaving for Miami, isn’t hard to understand. O’Neal would hang on for one more season with the Boston Celtics in 2010-11, as he became a bit of a journeyman at the end of his career (Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cavaliers and Celtics over his last four seasons).

Pictures of O’Neal in a Cavaliers’ uniform look weird, and it’s hard to find a really good one (trust me). But he most certainly did play for them, for one season almost as an imposter in what had to be the wrong uniform.

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