The 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers reunion tour just added two more passengers. Richard Jefferson confirmed on Instagram that Iman Shumpert and Matthew Dellavedova are heading to St. Tropez to join the group, which has been bouncing around Europe for days celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the franchise’s first NBA title.
“We are headed to St. Tropez, and Delly and Shump are meeting us there,” Jefferson said.
The core crew — LeBron James, Kevin Love, JR Smith, Channing Frye, Tristan Thompson, and Jefferson — started in London and Scotland, where they reportedly played roughly 2,000 rounds of golf and consumed a wine supply that would embarrass a French vineyard. Now the party shifts to the south of France, and the addition of Shumpert and Dellavedova means the full rotation from that historic Finals run is almost completely accounted for.
Almost. Kyrie Irving is the notable missing piece. According to those close to the situation, Irving couldn’t make it because of pre-scheduled commitments. It’s not hard to imagine how different those group photos would look with him in the frame, but the guys who are there seem to be having a genuinely good time — eating well, yelling at each other, doing exactly what you’d expect from a team that pulled off the greatest comeback in Finals history.
The 2016 Cavaliers were a weird, wonderful collection of personalities. James was the engine. Love was the skilled big who took heat he didn’t deserve. Smith was chaos personified. Thompson was the energy big. Jefferson and Frye were the veteran glue guys. Dellavedova was the pest who made Stephen Curry work for every inch. Shumpert was the defensive stopper who could also throw down a dunk that didn’t make sense. And Irving hit the shot. They won a title, then slowly scattered across the league and into other careers. But they’ve stayed tight in a way most championship teams don’t.
Ten years later, only James, Love, and Dellavedova are still playing in the NBA. Jefferson, Frye, and Shumpert have become media voices. Thompson is building businesses. Smith finally figured out how to wear a shirt in public. But the bond hasn’t faded. It’s rare to see this many guys from one team — especially a team that broke up relatively soon after — still prioritizing a reunion that spans multiple countries and lasts more than a weekend.
ESPN Cleveland shared the news with a clip of Jefferson’s comment and a caption that read: “Delly and Shump are joining the 2016 reunion soon, according to RJ.” One fan replied with a perfect one-liner: “Legend has it Dellavedova is still guarding Stephen Curry right now.”
That pretty much sums up how fans remember that team. Not just for the ring, but for the personality. The Cavs of 2016 were never the slickest or the most polished. They were loud, funny, occasionally messy, and absolutely unbreakable when it mattered. And apparently, a decade later, they’re still worth flying across the Atlantic for.
Leave a Comment