As the most famous draft in NBA history, the 96 Golden Generation has produced too many talented players, especially in the position of guard, Iverson, Kobe, Marbury, Ray Allen, Nash and others have excellent careers. But if you mention the best center in the golden generation, in addition to the leader Markuscampi and the losing draft Ben Wallace, "Big Z" Ilgoskas is definitely on the list.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas (born in Lithuania in June 1975) plays as a center forward and is nicknamed "Big Z", which has a height of 2.21 meters and a soft feel. In the NBA Draft in '96, Big Z was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 20th place in the first round, played for the Cavaliers and Miami Heat in his career, was selected to the NBA Rookie Second Team and the Rookie Challenge MVP in the Rookie Season, and was named to the NBA All-Star Team twice, it is worth mentioning that Big Z played for 12 seasons with the Cavaliers, and after retiring, Big Z entered the Management of the Cavaliers.
Big Z's career didn't start well, and he missed all the games in his rookie season because of a fractured right foot bone. By the 1997-98 season, big Z, who had first stepped on the field, was full of blood, playing in 82 full-time games (starting 81 games), averaging 13.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, and was selected to the NBA's Best Rookie Team that year. Unfortunately, Big Z's health lasted only a year, and due to a fractured left foot skew bone and ankle injuries, he played only 29 games in the next two seasons. Arguably, big Z in the early days of his career has been battling injuries, missing a total of 217 games in his first four seasons.
By the time Big Z was once again healthy on the pitch, the team's starting center had become the younger Chris Mim. However, fortunately, the technical ability of the big Z was not destroyed by successive injuries, the offensive technology was comprehensive, the feel was soft, and the frontal frame protection ability was extremely strong. Just one season later, Big Z returned to the Cavaliers' starting center position and played the peak of his career season, averaging 17.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, and he was also named to the Eastern Conference All-Star bench for the first time. The 02-03 season was the peak of the Big Z, which averaged 17.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and was selected for the All-Star Game that season, but with only 17 wins and 65 losses in the season, they became the third worst team in the league.
In 2003, the Cavaliers saw the biggest change in team history — LeBron James joined the team, which was a turning point for both the Cavaliers and big Z. The Cavaliers lineup with James as the core gradually began to stabilize, and big Z was in the process of James's continuous growth, as the second leader of the Cavaliers, he wholeheartedly assisted the rising star. James also praised the big brother who had worked together for 8 years, and when he retired from the jersey of big Z, James once said: "Part of the reason why I can achieve what I have today is that big Z, who taught me how to be a leader when I was a rookie. ”
In 2004-05, he became LeBron's most powerful assistant to the "little emperor": before All-Star Weekend, he averaged a career-high 17.4 points per game, played 33.7 minutes, and once helped the team to third place in the East. He beat stars including Kidd and Francis to be named an All-Star for the second time.
His final scoring was fixed at 16.9 points, in addition to averaging 2.1 blocks per game (9th in the league) and 3.8 offensive rebounds (6th in the league), which also made him one of the league's most inspirational giants. As an agent, of course, he had to take advantage of the agent's excellent performance in the contract year to get a good price for him, so he released a message before negotiating: "He will get a very large contract." Doctors in Cleveland say he's healthy and if the team wants him, they'll have to act as quickly as possible. "The two sides signed a five-year, 50 million renewal contract.
In 2007, the Cavaliers successfully reached the Finals, which was also another career peak of Big Z. Despite being nearly 32 years old at the time, Big Z still played a pivotal role in the team. Throughout the playoffs, big Z averaged a second-highest 12.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, helping the team tremendously on both ends of the game. But the Cavaliers, who reached the Finals for the first time, were still a little naïve in front of the old Spurs, failing to win a win and missing the championship.
On November 28, 2009, Big Z was about to reach a new milestone: representing the team he had played for for 13 years in game 724, surpassing Danny Ferry as the record holder in team history. So his family and friends came to the scene to celebrate this memorable moment. Surprisingly, however, Coach Brown didn't let him play even a minute. On February 17, 2010, The Meritorious Minister Big Z, who maintained the team's appearance record, was sent to the Wizards in exchange for All-Star forward Jamison. Later, when it came to the deal, Gilbert first blessed Big Z, then said that the deal was only part of the business, and he spent years observing "what works and what doesn't." Apparently, the deal was made to keep LeBron in a last-ditch effort, and Ilgoskas fell prey to it because he was "not working."
The Wizards then cut Big Z very "timely", and Big Z was able to return to the Cavaliers to continue his Cavaliers career. It is worth mentioning that after returning to the Cavaliers after a month, the home fans welcomed the return of Big Z with the loudest cheers, and even the Cavaliers' home quick loan center was temporarily renamed "The Z" on that day, expressing gratitude and respect for Big Z.
After being eliminated by the Celtics in 2010, Big Z, who ended his contract with the Cavaliers, chose to follow James to Miami. It must be said that, unlike James, Cavaliers fans are only full of blessings and nostalgia for the departure of big Z, after all, this is a player who has dedicated 13 years of youth to the team. At this time, Big Z was 35 years old, and in the twilight of his career, Big Z was eager to fulfill his dream of winning the championship. Unfortunately, although Big Z followed the Heat to the Finals again that year, he regrettably lost to the Dallas Mavericks, and then the 36-year-old Big Z announced his retirement, and not being able to win a championship ring became a major regret in Big Z's career.
On March 8, 2014, the Cavaliers held a jersey retirement ceremony for big Z at halftime. LeBron spent thousands of pounds chartering a plane for the ceremony, and he had no intention of grabbing the limelight, sitting at the end of the Cavaliers bench to watch the entire ceremony, and taking photos with all his former teammates after the ceremony.
In the eyes of the boss, he may just be a player who "can't play much role", never reach leBron's influence, and even the "qualified imperial guard" can not be played, and can only be treated equally when leaving the team.
But in the eyes of Cleveland's local fans, he will always be the hero of the city, just like LeBron.