The Cleveland Cavaliers have been the surprise of the season in the NBA, and the team’s success has led to a big-time extension in the front office.
On Tuesday night, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Cavs GM Koby Altman received an extension through the 2027-28 season and promotion to President of Basketball Operations for the franchise.
Altman was first hired by the Cavs’ front office in 2012 but didn’t get the General Manager role until 2017, before the 2017-18 NBA season.
Altman oversaw the Cavaliers’ massive rebuild following the departure of LeBron James in 2018, but this season the Cavs have been a huge surprise. Halfway through the season, Cleveland is tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference with the Philadelphia 76ers with a 23-16 record.
A lot of the success this season is due to Altman’s management, as he was responsible for bringing in the entirety of the Cavs starting lineup, drafting Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and the injured Collin Sexton, and trading for Jarrett Allen and Lauri Markkanen. As of Wednesday, the Cavaliers rank 14th in offensive rating (109.9) and have transformed their bottom-five defense into the third-best in the League with a 105.0 defensive rating.
Garland leads the team in scoring and assists with 19.5 points and 7.3 dimes per game too. The 21-year-old guard out Vanderbilt holds a 111.7 offensive rating and 102.4 defensive rating. Even as a rookie, Mobley has been a revelation at the center position, averaging 14.8 points and 8.1 boards, and 1.8 blocks per game, good for seventh place amongst block leaders.
The Cavaliers play against the Jazz (28-13) on Wednesday.
