3 ways Cleveland Cavaliers are building dynasty similar to Golden State Warriors

Last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers quietly crept their way to the Eastern Conference semifinals where they were defeated by the eventual champion Boston Celtics. This season though, they have completely turned the tables, leading the league with a staggering 29-4 record at the turn of the New Year.

Three other teams in the past thirty seasons in the NBA have managed more than their .879 winning percentage at this time of the year. Two of them went on to win the NBA title that year. The third was denied by one of the most incredible NBA Finals turnaround stories in history, ironically at the hands of Cavs all-time great, LeBron James.

However, the season before and those after defined what the basketball world knows as the Golden State Warriors dynasty. That dynasty was built on the thoughtful decisions made by their front office and coached by a great coach in Steve Kerr.

When looking at the Cleveland Cavaliers, the immediate thought goes to the fact that their head coach Kenny Atkinson was Kerr’s assistant. But even then, it does not explain why the team are surprisingly this good and look to be similarly built to go on a dynastical run just like the Warriors of the past decade.

Donovan Mitchell acquisition gave them the team leader they needed

In the 2021-22 season, the Cleveland Cavaliers were an up-and-coming team. However, they only had a bunch of young players with no clear superstar to take them up a notch. To solve the problem, they traded for Donovan Mitchell ahead of the 2022-23 season, sending a lot in return.

At the time of the trade, many felt the franchise was becoming desperate to be successful and might have renegaded their future. However, Mitchell was only 26 at the time and was instrumental in leading the Utah Jazz to the top of the West two seasons ago.

With the Cavaliers, he retained the leadership role, but the team still did not look like proper threats. Last season after losing to the Celtics, many speculated that the star might sign with another contender. However, to the surprise of many, he signed an extension to stay with the team.

This season, he is still the leader, however, coach Kenny Atkinson has made changes to the rotation where he is expected to produce similar numbers, but with reduced minutes. He has continued to thrive in that role and has led the team to this record. They have finally found the leading superstar they needed.

Kenny Atkinson’s balanced rotation

That need to produce similar numbers in less minutes has not put any pressure on Donovan Mitchell. That is because, he stays fresher than most superstars as he barely plays more than 30 minutes a game. His scoring has reduced slightly, but Atkinson would prefer the trade off to keep him fresh.

The same logic applies to the rest of the squad. They are tasked with taking only a specific number of shots in their assigned minutes. That means, if one player has a bad day, they have a replacement ready to go in and manage the situation.

This does not put undue pressure on any player while on the court. In fact, Kenny Atkinson manages in-game rotations so well that players can reset from time to time. All the players know they will get minutes every now and then, therefore stay motivated and ready.

Atkinson’s rotation has also helped bring the best out their twin towers in Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. Up until last season, the team struggled to get the best out of the duo. Many felt keeping them together was a mistake, until their performances this season have shown otherwise.

Jarrett Allen feels Cleveland Cavaliers’ success is due to ‘ethical basketball’

Speaking on Jarrett Allen, he was once touted as a defense first player. But now, he has blossomed into an efficient interior machine where he keeps scoring at will. After their last win against the Los Angeles Lakers, a reporter asked Allen about the secret to his team winning easily against big teams, to which he said.

Cavs hoops. I mean, it’s genuine, we are just playing Cavs basketball, it’s ethical basketball.

Jarrett Allen said

This statement gets proof from the fact that they rank bottom eight in the league in free throw attempts. That suggests they are not hunting for fouls like some other teams are notorious for. At the same time, they are second in the league in total points.

Part of it comes from their league leading three-point efficiency. They are throwing it up a lot more than a most of the teams in the league. But their efficiency has helped them convert those into game winning points.

Leave it to Jarrett Allen to label the Cavs as playing “ethical basketball”

A true gem. pic.twitter.com/I8PZmOkyyt

— RealCavsFans.com (@realcavsfans) January 1, 2025

In short, they have focused on what they can be good at and stuck to those tasks. The ethical basketball aspect gets further proof from the fact that they share the ball and do not have the ego some other teams have. It could be that Kenny Atkinson has instilled that mindset into the team after his arrival.

But it needs the buy-in from their most important superstar. With the way Donovan Mitchell is playing, it seems he is leading by example. That way, the rest of the team are following his lead and winning together collectively.

This has the makings of a dynastical team akin to the Golden State Warriors. They were a bunch of ego less players who only cared about winning. The rest of the NBA might have to brace for an NBA title run or two if they continue with this mindset.