Charles Barkley gave a ringing endorsement of the Cleveland Cavaliers that will turn a lot of heads. The Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed has had an incredible season, with top players like Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley making history throughout the year. At 52-10, Cleveland is making many doubters believers, including Charles Barkley.
The all-time great has been a doubter of head coach Kenny Atkinson’s team throughout this season. Not anymore. During the TNT NBA Tip-Off show, Barkley made his guarantee for who he thinks will come out of the East in the playoffs.
“The Cleveland Cavaliers are going to the NBA Finals. That will be a great series if they play the Celtics, but right now, I’m telling y’all, and I told you to book it last week, the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to the NBA Finals. I did guarantee it.”
Cleveland has completely reshaped its ceiling this season
A year ago, pundits were saying that the Cavs needed to trade Donovan Mitchell as there was no way this core could become a contender. A starting lineup of two point guard-sized players would never work, and Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen together did not give this team enough offensive firepower. This was a second-round at best core.
And then this season happened. The Cavs added head coach Kenny Atkinson, beefed up their bench, and started playing at a faster pace. Donovan Mitchell has remained his All-NBA self. At the same time, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley are taking the next step in their development and becoming stellar second and third offensive options. Cleveland additionally traded for DeAndre Hunter during this trade deadline, further highlighting the belief this team has in contending for a championship. Now it really looks like this team is on a collision course with the defending champion Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Of course, Cleveland cannot take anything for granted. This team will likely have to beat the No. 8 seed and then the No. 4 and No. 5 matchup winner to get to the Conference Finals. That potential second-round matchup could be against either the Milwaukee Bucks or the Indiana Pacers, two teams that will be very dangerous in the postseason. Still, this team would be favored in those clashes.
Overall, the Cavs are a long way from the NBA Finals. And getting the Charles Barkley endorsement isn’t always the best news, as he is usually wrong when it comes to predicting NBA champions. However, the narrative has changed around this franchise over this season. And the Cavs are one of the countless examples of how making a few tweaks and having faith in young talent developing can go a long way in building a title contender. It’s great for the league to see a team like Cleveland become a legitimate threat in 2025.
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