The Cavaliers paid tribute to Nick Gilbert, the late son of owner Dan Gilbert, during halftime of Sunday's game against the New York Knicks in Cleveland, raising a banner to the rafters at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in his honor.
Gilbert died in May at the age of 26. He endured a lifelong battle with neurofibromatosis (NF1), a disorder that causes noncancerous tumors to grow on the brain, spinal cord and skin. There is no cure.
"It means a lot," Nick Gilbert's brother, Grant, told Bally Sports Cleveland about the tribute. "It's very special to my family. But not only my family, everyone that knew Nick. And I think it's important for us to come into the FieldHouse and see that banner and understand that he's with us. But also for everybody else to understand the contributions to the organization and to the community that he made. And just being around and being an unwavering fan. And his spirit really driving us through the hard times and the bad times. So he's with us for sure."
Nick Gilbert - forever with us and forever a Cleveland Cavaliers legend. ❤️💛 pic.twitter.com/IrXSTuiGA3
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) March 4, 2024
Nick Gilbert gained a spot in Cleveland sports lore when he represented the Cavs at the NBA draft lottery. With Nick wearing his typical bow tie while sitting in the Cavaliers' seat, the team twice received the No. 1 pick in the lottery.
In 2011, the Cavaliers used it on Kyrie Irving. Two years later, they picked Anthony Bennett.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
