Thirty-Nine Years Ago, Cavaliers Drafted Brad Daugherty, Mark Price, Ron Harper, And Off They Went

Before LeBron James and after Austin Carr, there was Brad Daugherty. The Cavaliers have also had several other No. 1 overall draft picks in there, but only Daugherty happened 39 years ago on Tuesday.

Of course, Daugherty wasn’t the only Cleveland selection in 1986. That draft also introduced the likes of Ron Harper (No. 8) and Mark Price (No. 25) to the NBA. 

Daugherty is now a regular on FanDuel Sports Network’s Cavs broadcasts. He made five All-Star teams (1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993); Price made four (1989, 1992, 1993, 1994) and won the Three-Point competition twice. Price is one of just three Cavs to have been named First Team All-NBA, joining James (eight times) and Donovan Mitchell this year.

So it’s a draft that went remarkably well for the Cavs. Interestingly, the Daugherty and Price picks originally belonged to someone else.

The Philadelphia 76ers actually owned the No. 1 overall selection — but traded it to Cleveland for forward Roy Hinson.

Meanwhile, Price was selected by the Dallas Mavericks at No. 25, which was a second-rounder back in 1986. He was acquired by the Cavs on the same day in one of the NBA’s All-Time great steals. More specifically, Cleveland landed Price for a 1989 second-rounder. That pick later turned out to be someone named Jeff Hodge.

The selections of Daugherty, Price and Harper ushered in a new and exciting era of Cavaliers basketball, one that is still held near and dear to many fans of the franchise today. It also included coach Lenny Wilkens and GM Wayne Embry, the man behind those picks, as well as John Williams (drafted a year earlier, but not eligible until 1986), and eventually, Larry Nance.

In 1989, the Cavs finished 57-25, the best record in franchise history at the time. They reached the Eastern Conference finals three years later, but never could get past Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Hey, who could?