There is almost no long term history in Cleveland for the number 16. But as we count down every day until Cavaliers tip-off there are only three players to have ever worn the number.
Only one player who stepped foot in Rocket Arena played for more than two years. Starting off, 16 was not worn by a Cav for the first 15 years of the franchise.
After those 15 years went by, Johnny Davis spent a year and some change in Cleveland to end his career.
An NBA Champion in 1977 in his rookie year with the Trailblazers, he went on to be a solid rotational scorer in the NBA.
On the Cavs, he played 115 games and averaged 11 points.
From an athlete who played over 100 games for the Cavs, to one who played just 7. Gary Alexander played a total of 11 games in his lone NBA season.
The 6'7 forward scored 19 points in those 11 games and snagged 15 rebounds along with them.
Moving to the longest tenured number 16 and another non-American player that garnered a massive fanbase in Cleveland during his time.
Cedi Osman was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round in 2015 and was traded on draft night to the Cavs for Tyus Jones, who the Cavs had picked earlier in the night.
He spent two seasons in Turkey and arrived on the team in LeBron's final season in Cleveland and instantly became a favorite for his attitude off the bench and his smile. Being the first guy off the bench to celebrate every play.
LeBron quickly took a liking to Osman and has said he is one of his favorite teammates he has ever had and has deep respect for him.
There was an incident in their rookie season that Osman believes is where he earned James love and respect when they accidentally came together and James sprained his ankle.
That relationship helped make Osman better after LeBron left for LA as Osman came out and became an every game starter and had the best season of his career. He locked down that starting small forward role for the next two seasons after that.
Once he was moved back to the bench like his rookie season, he still played that same role when the team drafted Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, he became a "veteran" and an important player on the team.
In 2023, he became the only player remaining from the 2018 Finals team and was considered the "Junkyard Dog" of a Cavs team centered around defense and chemistry on the court. He would get MVP chants every time he was at the free throw line in games.
Unfortunately he was then traded to San Antonio in what would get the Cavs Max Strus and his NBA career came to an end as he now spends his career playing in Greece.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/cavaliers/onsi as Counting Down the Cavs: Breaking Down the Number 16 in Cavaliers History .
