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ESPN Ranks Cavaliers Among NBA's True Title Threats
May 13, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the basket against Indiana Pacers guard Ben Sheppard (26) during the first half of game five of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

ESPN Ranks Cavaliers Among NBA's True Title Threats

Originally posted on Cleveland Cavaliers on SI
By Jared Koch  |  Last updated Aug 4, 2025 12:15 PM ET

As the Cleveland Cavaliers stand, their roster is the only group in the NBA currently above the dreaded second-apron–– effectively making this team's title aspirations clear and defined heading into this coming season after a bumpy playoff outing.

However, even with the Cavaliers over said second-apron with a few team-building restrictions now on hand, in the eyes of ESPN, this Cleveland roster is well-built to sustain a title run not just for this season, but perhaps for the foreseeable future as well.

ESPN's Tim Bontemps and Kevin Pelton recently stacked up each team in the league and their title chances for next year and onward, sorting from each team that's all in on winning a championship right now, to those bottoming out in the standings for a hopeful top lottery finish.

For the Cavaliers, Bontemps and Pelton placed them in a relatively strong spot, pairing them among four other teams in the tier labeled "an extended championship window."

"With no starters in their 30s, the Cavaliers should have staying power as contenders -- if they can manage an expensive roster. Extensions for All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley that kick in this coming season will push Cleveland into the second apron, meaning a two-year window before more difficult decisions that might cost the Cavaliers some of their core players."

David Richard-Imagn Images

Next to the Cavaliers is an elite club: the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, and Orlando Magic– all top-tier contenders for the year ahead, and teams that have a reasonable route to continue competing atop their respective conferences for the year ahead.

Cleveland, while sitting over the second-apron, still holds all of the tools to be a sustainable winner, or reconstruct this roster into another rendition of a competitive core, a few years down the line.

Of course, Donovan Mitchell is the key centerpiece of this current Cavaliers core, but in a few years time, it'll be Evan Mobley breaking out as a potential 1A-superstar, and perhaps a catalyst in Cleveland's ability to remain better and competitive for longer, as opposed to being among those teams with a limited and short title window.

Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

And in the meantime, this Cavaliers core is especially ready for a deep run in the postseason for the year ahead. They've retained most of their core pieces next to Mitchell and Mobley, have strengthened their depth, sit in a winnable, depleted Eastern Conference, and are hungry to rebound from their previous calamity in the postseason this past go around.

On paper, this might be the season for the Cavaliers to truly make their mark on a Finals-level run for the first time in eight years, but if things don't pan out in their favor, the window to compete is far from closed.

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

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