The Cleveland Cavaliers are again holding their training camp at IMG Academy, the sprawling sports complex and boarding school for high school athletes situated on, as the locals say, Florida’s “sun coast.”
Two practices in, the Cavs sounded genuinely happy to be back here, comforted by the familiarity of the surroundings, even though the point of holding camp outside of suburban Cleveland is to generate a change of scenery.
They love the hotel, the IMG weight room, dinners at the same coastal restaurants in Bradenton and Sarasota. A predictable work schedule at a vacation destination. There was even a spirited cornhole tournament on resort grounds Monday night.
“Listen, it worked out last year,” deadpanned second-year coach and reigning NBA Coach of the Year Kenny Atkinson, who was referring to Cleveland’s historic 15-0 start to the regular season after training at IMG.
The Cavs are big on familiarity, from the top of the organization on down. Team president Koby Altman and his front-office executives were all given another round of contract extensions last summer, following one of the best regular seasons in franchise history. Cleveland’s core group of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen is entering the fourth year together; Garland, Mobley and Allen have all been on this team for longer. One of the offseason changes the team made was to sign Larry Nance Jr., who used to play for the team and whose father has a jersey hanging in the rafters at Rocket Arena.
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