Counting Down the Cavs: Breaking Down the Number 3 in Cleveland's History

This Thursday the Cleveland Cavaliers will be playing their first game of the regular season. So today we move on to the most worn jersey in franchise history, which has been worn 27 different times.

In 2019, 5 different players wore number 3 in the same season. Patrick McCaw, George Hill, Marquese Chriss, Cameron Payne, and Kobi Simmons.

But what about the first player? Well that takes us back to 1977.

Elmore Smith: 1977-1979

Kentucky State Alumni, Elmore Smith was traded 3 times in his NBA career, he was sent to the Lakers to replace retiring Wilt Chamberlain, then the Lakers traded him to Milwaukee to replace Kareem, and then the Cavs got him to sit alongside Nate Thurmond in the Cavs front court.

He played 141 games and averaged 10.5 points, 2 blocks, and 8 rebounds.

Craig Ehlo: 1987-1993

He played most games in the number 3 with 513 games in Cleveland and one his most known memories is Michael Jordan’s game winner over him in the 1989 playoffs.

Jordan did push off too.

Besides that, Ehlo was a defensive anchor for the Cavs on that team, he only averaged 10 points a game over those 7 seasons.

Bob Sura: 1996-2000

Right after Ehlo came Bob Sura. Opposite to the “blue-collar” hard working defender, Sura was a big personality and flashy guard.

Drafted by the Cavs in 1995, Sura would play 330 games for the Cavs and in the 1997 All-Star Weekend in Cleveland, he represented the team in the Slam Dunk Contest.

Sasha Pavlovic: 2005-2009

Another long tenured Cavalier. Pavlovic played 302 Cavs games and was a consistent role player on the young LeBron James led Cavaliers.

He had unshakeable confidence and was not afraid to shoot the ball when he had the chance.

Pavlovic was a lethal shooter despite being inconsistent at times. He was an important member of that Cavs team in the 2007 NBA Finals. An unsung hero on the team that year.

Dion Waiters: 2013-2015

One the last fan favorites in the number 3. When Waiters arrived to the Cavs after being drafted 4th overall in 2012, he came in with supreme confidence.

He was not afraid to take shots, which is why he chose the number 3 in honor of his favorite player Allen Iverson who had that same level of confidence in the NBA.

However, his career in Cleveland did not last long despite having flashes of greatness. Kyrie Irving and Waiters were rumored to have issues off the court, so when LeBron arrived there was a choice to make and they traded him mid game for what would get the Cavs J.R Smith and Iman Shumpert.

During his unfortunately short Cavs stint, he averaged 14 points in 164 games.

Now the number 3 is held by veteran big man Thomas Bryant on this Cavaliers team. He is one of the oldest members of the team and provides an important role to this current Cavs team trying to win a ring.

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