Although he’s long since left the National Basketball Association behind, David Blatt’s brief tour of duty with the Cleveland Cavaliers still sticks out as one of the most unique coaching tenures in league history. Today, the former Cavs coach was in the news for an unfortunate reason: He revealed he is living with multiple sclerosis.
Blatt, who has been the coach of Greek powerhouse Olympiakos since June 2018, announced his diagnosis in a statement posted to the team’s website, per the Associated Press:
How could I possibly complain? I absolutely cannot and will not. It’s wasted effort and while I ask my players and staff to be the best version of themselves, I must ask and even demand from myself to do the same.’
Blatt’s tenure with the Cavaliers, while spanning fewer than two seasons, is still one of the most memorable in NBA history.
Blatt was hired about a month before LeBron James’ iconic return to Cleveland. He coached the team during its first of four consecutive trips to the NBA Finals. Blatt was eventually let go by the Cavs the following season when the Cavs had a 30-11 record before Cleveland eventually won the 2016 NBA championship with coach Ty Lue.
Last week Lue signed with the Lakers’ new rival, the Clippers, to be an assistant under Doc Rivers.
Blatt most recently won the EuroCup in 2018 with Darüşşafaka of the Turkish league.
