Sep 29, 2025; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr. (22) during media day at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

2025 Cleveland Cavaliers expectations set at all-time high

Originally posted on Cleveland Cavaliers on SI
By Paul Keren | Last updated Sep 29, 2025 6:39 PM ET

It is not a secret that the Cleveland Cavaliers have lofty expectations for the upcoming season. There is no set number of wins that the Cavs are shooting for, or just making the playoffs by June.

Former and recently signed Cleveland forward Larry Nance Jr. laid out the team's goals in just two sentences today at media day.

Larry Nance Jr.: “No one is satisfied with just the playoffs. No one is satisfied with 64 wins.”
— Danny Cunningham (@RealDCunningham) September 29, 2025

Over the past three seasons, the Cavs have a record of 163-83 overall. The playoff results leave a lot to be desired, as in the 2022-2023 season, Cleveland lost in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs to the New York Knicks in five games. 2023-24 was a slight improvement as the Cavs advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals after beating the Orlando Magic in seven games, before falling to the eventual champion Boston Celtics in five games.

In 2024-25, Cleveland had their best record since 2008-09, finishing 64-18 and with the number one seed in the East. The magic would not last, though. After dominating the first round, the Cavs would get caught in the Indiana whirlwind that brought the Pacers one game away from winning the NBA Finals.

While some of these seasons could be deemed as “successes” for a franchise, the aspirations for this team are so much higher now.

As Nance Jr. said in the tweet above, “No one is satisfied with just the playoffs.” This means a lot coming from a player like Nance Jr. as he has been a part of some Cavalier teams that were lucky to gauge just 20 wins. While on the Cavaliers from 2018/19 - 2020/21, the Cavs were 60-159 as Nance Jr. was traded away mid-season.

As many fans recall that era of Cleveland basketball, it is often referred to as the “missing LeBron phase” of being a fan of the team. But LeBron is not coming back to save the team as he did in 2014.

The difference is that now, the Cavaliers don’t need him to save the day; they have the pieces to win the whole thing this season.

Vegas agrees, according to FanDuel, that the Cavaliers are the favorites to win the Eastern Conference at +220, sitting above other injured East favorites, such as Boston and Indiana. To win the NBA Finals, the Cavs have the second-best odds at +650, only sitting behind the reigning NBA champion, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Will it be a smart bet to take the Cavaliers to win it all in the hurt East? We will see when the Cavs tip off their season on October 7th.

This article first appeared on Cleveland Cavaliers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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