1995–96 Cleveland Cavaliers season

(lost to Knicks 0–3)

The 1995–96 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 26th season for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the National Basketball Association. This was the first season since 1985–86 that Mark Price was not on the opening day roster. During the off-season, the Cavaliers acquired All-Star guard, and three-point specialist Dan Majerle from the Phoenix Suns, and acquired 2-time Slam Dunk champion Harold Miner from the Miami Heat.

After the first two games of the regular season, Tyrone Hill was seriously injured in a car accident and missed 38 games, as the Cavaliers struggled losing their first seven games of the season; however, Hill returned in the second half of the season playing off the bench, being replaced by Michael Cage as the team's starting center. The Cavaliers played above .500 in winning percentage for the remainder of the season, holding a 26–20 record at the All-Star break, and posting a 10–2 record in February. The team finished in third place in the Central Division with a 47–35 record, earned the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, and qualified for the NBA playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.

Terrell Brandon continued to show improvement, leading the team with 19.3 points, 6.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game, while Chris Mills averaged 15.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, and Bobby Phills provided the team with 14.6 points and 1.4 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. In addition, Danny Ferry became the team's starting power forward, and contributed 13.3 points per game and 143 three-point field goals, while Majerle played a sixth man role off the bench, averaging 10.6 points per game, and leading the Cavaliers with 146 three-point field goals, and Cage contributed 6.0 points and led the team with 8.9 rebounds per game. Off the bench, Hill provided with 7.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, and first-round draft pick Bob Sura contributed 5.3 points and 2.9 assists per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Brandon was selected for the 1996 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; it was his first ever All-Star appearance. Meanwhile, Sura was selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference Rookie team. Brandon finished tied in 16th place in Most Valuable Player voting, and also finished tied in third place along with Ferry in Most Improved Player voting, while Phills finished tied in eighth place, and head coach Mike Fratello finished in second place in Coach of the Year voting, behind Phil Jackson of the Chicago Bulls.

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1996 NBA playoffs, and for the second consecutive year, the Cavaliers faced off against the 5th–seeded New York Knicks, a team that featured All-Star center Patrick Ewing, Anthony Mason and John Starks. Despite both teams finishing with the same record during the regular season, the Cavaliers had home-court advantage in the series. However, the Cavaliers lost the first two games to the Knicks at home at the Gund Arena, before losing Game 3 on the road, 81–76 at Madison Square Garden, thus losing the series in a three-game sweep.

For the second straight season, the Cavaliers were known as a low-scoring, defensive team led by Fratello's slow-paced, defensive coaching style. The team finished 28th in the NBA in scoring averaging 91.1 points per game, while allowing 88.5 points per game from their opponents, which was the best in the league; the Cavaliers' scoring average was the second-lowest during the regular season, as the expansion Vancouver Grizzlies finished last in the league averaging 89.8 points per game. The Cavaliers finished eleventh in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 730,095 at the Gund Arena during the regular season.

Following the season, Majerle signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat after only one season with the Cavaliers, while Cage signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, and Miner retired after four seasons in the NBA due to injuries, only playing just 19 games with the Cavaliers this season due to a knee injury. After missing the previous two seasons due to a back injury, former All-Star center Brad Daugherty also retired, ending his eight-year career in the NBA with the Cavaliers.