Politician Vivek Ramaswamy — who is expected to run to become the next governor of Ohio in the 2026 election — was in attendance for the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Tuesday bout against the Boston Celtics. At one point during the game, he posed for a picture and held up a custom No. 25 Ramaswamy Cavs jersey.
Former Cavaliers star Mark Price stumbled upon Ramaswamy’s photo on social media and came away with a question.
Hey, isn’t that jersey #25 retired?😁😁😁#LetEmKnow https://t.co/EiY4RGzVFQ
— Mark Price (@Mark25Price) February 5, 2025
Price, who was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the No. 25 overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft then immediately traded to Cleveland, was one of the top point guards in the league for much of his nine-season stint playing for the Cavaliers.
Across 582 total regular-season games played with Cleveland, he averaged 16.4 points, 7.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He was a great 3-point shooter at a time when that shot wasn’t a staple of NBA offenses like it is today, as he shot 40.9 percent from deep with the Cavaliers.
Probably Cleveland’s most successful season with him on the roster came in the 1991-92 campaign. The Cavaliers won 57 games in that regular season and advanced all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals after they eliminated the New Jersey Nets and Boston Celtics in the first two rounds of the 1992 NBA Playoffs.
Cleveland’s playoff run came to an end at the hands of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals, but Price seemingly did all he could to try to get the Cavaliers over the hump and into the NBA Finals. He was arguably Cleveland’s best player against Chicago, as he led the Cavaliers in points and assists per contest. The series lasted six games.
Price earned four All-Star nods and four All-NBA selections with the franchise, which retired his number in 1999.
The current iteration of the Cavaliers will try to follow in the 1991-92 team’s footsteps and reach the Eastern Conference Finals this year. A deeper run would certainly be welcomed as well. Cleveland hasn’t advanced past the second round since the 2018 NBA Playoffs, when the team lost to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.
