The Cleveland Cavaliers changed head coaches and saw a 16-game improvement in their regular-season record. In the end, the result was the same as the year before: a second-round exit from the playoffs.
The Cavaliers’ remarkable 64-18 regular season placed them in a spotlight they last enjoyed when LeBron James played for the team, and president of basketball operations Koby Altman knows that has invited title-level expectations.
Altman met with reporters Monday, six days after the top-seeded Cavaliers’ Game 5 loss to the Indiana Pacers eliminated them from the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“I think we can all agree that coming into the season no one predicted us to be (the) No. 1 seed. I don’t think anyone had 64 wins,” Altman said. “Because we were so good we re-created the expectation of Finals. I think everyone in here saw potential champions, which is a new space for us.
“We re-created the expectation and now we have to live with that. I think it’s a space we want to live in and take that into the playoffs next year, knowing we’re going to have to change that narrative, knowing that we have get over the hump.”
The idiom of getting over the hump was present throughout Altman’s remarks. When asked if he’s confident the current roster construction can win a title, Altman pointed to the team’s young foundation, with All-Stars Darius Garland (25 years old) and Evan Mobley (turning 24 in June) supporting lead guard Donovan Mitchell.
“Us figuring out our offensive identity happened this year and so I’m really high on and optimistic about our future,” Altman said. “That being said, it can’t just be 82 games. We have to figure out this next 16, we have to figure out how to get over the hump. But this group has shown they can play some of the best basketball in the world. It’s how do we do it on the highest stage and continue to keep pushing to get over that hump?”
Altman did say, however, that the Cavaliers wouldn’t be afraid to add pieces, even if it took them into luxury-tax or second-apron territory.
Cleveland was one of the favorites to win the 2025 title once new coach Kenny Atkinson guided the team to a 15-0 start to the season and additional winning streaks of 12 and 16 games later in the season. The Cavaliers swept the Miami Heat before running into trouble against Indiana, despite some massive games from Mitchell.
“This is Year 3 for the Core Four and they’ve had incredible success, right?” Altman said. “Playoff success needs to come next, but I think there’s an internal belief because of what we proved this year during the regular season and what we’re capable of to run it back and see what we can do. But it’s not just running it back. It’s another year of Kenny.
“… There was a newness, a freshness this year. I know this is Year 3, but there’s a newness, a freshness that we’re going to take into next year having failed again in the playoffs and knowing how much that’s going to hurt. And we’re going to get over the hump. This group’s going to get over the hump.”
