Our destination today on this NBA Tuesday miniseries exploring the best sabermetric-rated teams in each franchise’s history? Cleveland! Born in 1970, the Cavaliers have been around for a long time, winning one NBA title while making the postseason 23 times and securing 7 division titles. Of course, the team has also lost the NBA Finals four times, as well—all this century with You Know Who at the helm. Enjoy the list!

No. 5: 2015-16 Cleveland Cavaliers

We are surprised this team isn’t higher on the list, but crazier quirks exist in this experiment. With a 57-25 record, these Cavs finished first in the Central Division, thanks to the No. 8 offense, the No. 4 defense, and the No. 4 overall SRS ranking. Cleveland swept Detroit and then Atlanta to reach the Eastern Conference Finals where it beat Toronto in six games. Then? The epic NBA Finals that saw the Cavs win a title in seven.

Small forward LeBron James (13.6 Win Shares) brought a title to Cleveland, with the help of power forward Tristan Thompson (8.7) and PF Kevin Love (8.5). It was point guard Kyrie Irving (5.0) who hit the title-clinching shot in Game 7 against the Golden State Warriors on the road, but with 8 players overall posting at least 2.7 WS on this team, it was a collective effort behind The King. The Cavs finally won it all.

No. 4: 2009-10 Cleveland Cavaliers

This was the final season of The King in Cleveland, Volume I: 61 wins, Central Division title, No. 10 offense, No. 6 defense, and No. 2 SRS ranking overall. After dispatching the Chicago Bulls in five games to open the playoffs, though, the Cavaliers didn’t fare so well against the Boston Celtics. This infamous series had people wondering if James had quit on Cleveland and the franchise, mentally, in a six-game loss.

James (18.5 WS) was the voted MVP, a pick we agreed with in our analysis. But who else was on this team?! PF Anderson Varejão (8.1), PG Mo Williams (6.7), and even aging/fading center Shaquille O’Neal (3.1). The Cavs actually went up 2-1 in the Boston series, but then the wheels came off in three straight losses by an average of 17 ppg. The one home game in that stretch? A 32-point loss in Game 5. Inexplicable still, really.

No. 3: 1992-93 Cleveland Cavaliers

With a 54-28 record, this team finished second in the Central Division, three games behind the eventual champion Bulls. The Cavs were No. 2 in the overall SRS rankings, based on the No. 8 offense and the No. 4 defense. But in the first round, Cleveland needed the full series to beat the New Jersey Nets after losing Game 2 at home, and then Chicago made mincemeat out of the Cavs in the next round, with a sweep.

C Brad Daugherty (12.7 WS), PF Larry Nance (10.7), and PG Mark Price (9.8) were the Big Three on this team, before the concept of a Big Three was really popularized. Outscoring the Nets by 3.2 ppg and getting extended in the opening series as the No. 3 seed in the East must have just taken a lot out of Cleveland. Then again, getting swept by the Bulls and Michael Jordan in his prime—by 8.5 ppg—was not shameful.

No. 2: 1988-89 Cleveland Cavaliers

Yes, it is that team, made infamous by MJ’s theatrics. With a 57-25 record, the Cavs finished second in the Central by six games to the eventual champion Detroit Pistons. With the No. 12 offense and the No. 3 defense, Cleveland was actually the No. 1 team in the overall SRS rankings—while also finishing 10 games above the Bulls in the standings. So the first-round upset by Chicago in five games? Was pretty stunning.

This roster was loaded, too: Price (11.3 WS), Nance (10.3), shooting guard Ron Harper (10.2), Daugherty (9.6), and PF Hot Rod Williams (7.7) were a very strong core. SG Craig Ehlo (4.6) is the one who got posterized, however, by Jordan’s clutch shot. The home team won just twice in the five-game series, and Cleveland needed a road win in Game 4 to even force Game 5 at home. Overall, just 0.8 ppg made the difference.

No. 1: 2008-09 Cleveland Cavaliers

It may be surprising to know this is the best team in Cavs history, among all the King’s men. With a 66-16 record, Cleveland won the Central behind the No. 13 offense, the No. 1 defense, and the No. 1 overall SRS ranking. The Cavs swept Detroit and Atlanta in the first two rounds to reach the ECF matchup against the Orlando Magic, but Cleveland couldn’t get the job done: the Magic won in six games to end the season early.

James (20.3 WS)—again the MVP—was ably augmented by Williams (9.8) and Varejão (8.0). Overall, the roster was deep and solid, with eight players putting up at least 3.8 WS, including aging defensive rock Ben Wallace. But Orlando won Game 1 on the road by a point, and it was all catch-up time from there for the Cavs. And they couldn’t do it, losing Game 4 on the road by two points. This was the start of an end, really.