Nick Gilbert, the son of Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, died on Saturday at the age of 26. Gilbert suffered from neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder with no known cure. Gilbert is best known for serving as a good luck charm for the Cavaliers at the NBA Draft Lottery.
Gilbert represented the Cavaliers at the 2011 lottery, their first after the nightmarish season that followed the first departure of LeBron James. Cleveland entered the lottery with two picks. Its own selection, which had the best odds of jumping to the top slot, fell to its lowest possible point at No. 4. However, the pick they acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers, which had just a 2.8% chance of landing at No. 1, ultimately won them the lottery and the right to select Kyrie Irving.
Gilbert represented the Cavaliers again at the 2012 lottery, though they fell to No. 4 and came one pick shy of Bradley Beal. They settled on Dion Waiters, whom they traded during the 2014-15 season. However, when Gilbert represented the Cavs for a third time in 2013, they jumped up to No. 1 yet again. Their selection of Anthony Bennett ultimately proved disastrous, but he at least served as meaningful salary ballast in the trade that landed them Kevin Love.
Gilbert didn't represent the Cavs again in the lottery until 2018, when they landed the No. 8 overall pick and selected Collin Sexton. After that, he played a part in one more crucial bit of lottery luck. Cavs general manager Koby Altman represented the team in 2021, when Cleveland had the fifth-best odds on the board. They managed to jump up to No. 3 on lottery night, though, and that landed them budding star Evan Mobley. While Gilbert was not on the dais for the lottery, he did send Altman two of his bowties, which were his signature fashion choice as a lottery representative, for good luck.
The Cavaliers dedicated the 2022-23 season to Nick Gilbert, wearing bowtie emblems on their warmup jackets.
