What is a 'Cavalanche,'? How Cavaliers signature runs inspired confetti celebration at Rocket Arena
Context:
The Cleveland Cavaliers' 2024-25 season was marked by their most dominant performance since the LeBron James era, achieving 64 regular season wins. This success was driven by a well-rounded team under coach Kenny Atkinson, featuring strong backcourt performances from Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, as well as elite defense from Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. A notable aspect of their games was the 'Cavalanche,' a term that describes the Cavaliers' ability to unleash overwhelming scoring runs, which became a fan-favorite and was even trademarked by the team. The Cavaliers embraced the concept with in-arena celebrations like confetti showers during these runs, further enhancing the fan experience. Despite facing tough opponents like the Indiana Pacers, the Cavaliers consistently demonstrated their prowess with significant scoring surges throughout the season and playoffs.
Dive Deeper:
The term 'Cavalanche' refers to the Cavaliers' ability to execute massive scoring runs, a phenomenon that captivated fans and was officially trademarked by the team to bolster its identity.
Cleveland's 2024-25 season was their most successful since the LeBron James era, culminating in 64 regular season wins, the highest since the 2008-09 season.
Coach Kenny Atkinson led a versatile team featuring standout performances from Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell in the backcourt, complemented by strong defensive efforts from Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen in the frontcourt.
The Cavaliers embraced the 'Cavalanche' phenomenon by integrating celebratory elements like snow machines in Rocket Arena, which released confetti during the team's scoring runs to enhance fan engagement.
In the playoffs, the Cavaliers continued to display their ability to perform 'Cavalanches,' overcoming early deficits with significant runs, such as an 18-0 surge against the Miami Heat in Game 3, and a 20-4 run against the Pacers in Game 1 of the second round.
The 'Cavalanche' concept became a cultural touchstone for the team, inspiring merchandise and memes that celebrated the Cavaliers' dominant scoring ability and resonated with the NBA fan community.
Despite a setback in Game 1 against the Pacers, where they were initially trailing, the Cavaliers' ability to mount impressive comebacks was a testament to their resilience and strategic prowess under pressure.
The 2024-25 regular season was the Cavaliers' most dominant since the franchise was in its LeBron James era.
While the star power and title chances of Cleveland's annual James-led squads compared to the 2025 group may be up for debate, the numbers are pretty straightforward: the Cavaliers' 64 regular season wins were their most in a season since 2008-09, when James was still a young player that hadn't yet won a championship.
Cleveland's dominance has been a product of a well-coached team behind Kenny Atkinson that has a little bit of everything — scoring punch in the backcourt from Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, elite shot-blocking and defense in the frontcourt from Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, and plenty of bench production from Ty Jerome, DeAndre Hunter, etc.
Most of the Cavs' 64 wins came from massive scoring outbursts where Atkinson's unit would assert itself as the superior team. Eventually, the fanbase needed a name for the team's special runs — and they landed on "Cavalanche."
Here's what to know about Cleveland's "Cavalanches," including how the team implemented the fun with confetti in its home arena.
MORE: Series preview, predictions for Cavs vs. Pacers in second round
What is a 'Cavalanche'?
The definition of a "Cavalanche," a term many Cleveland fans began to use late in the 2024-25 regular season and the team itself even gave into, is simple: A big Cavaliers run.Back in March, the Cavaliers filed a trademark to use the term "Cavalanche" on clothing, with Sports Business Journal describing it as "a fan-favorite phrase” that describes "an extended Cavaliers scoring run during games."
On the Cavaliers' team shop, they now have a t-shirt available that provides their exact definition of a "Cavalanche," saying it's a noun that describes "a sudden overwhelming rush of Cavaliers points."
The term caught on as Cleveland asserted itself as the team to beat in the Eastern Conference this season, claiming the No. 1 seed with ease. Naturally, NBA fans created some memes to go along with the "Cavalanches," some of which can be found below.
Oh no, it's a Cavalanche. pic.twitter.com/CACd8j6Tar
— playoff paint (@nba_paint) November 9, 2024
THIS is a cavalanche meme pic.twitter.com/v0dS9gtD4W
— waddywaggs (@AdamDavidWagner) November 9, 2024 Even after defeating the Cavs in Game 1 of the second round, the Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton acknowledged Cleveland's tendency to go on massive runs.
"The Cavalanche was on its way and I thought we did a great job of weathering that," Haliburton said after Indiana's Game 1 victory.
"That Cavalanche was on its way and I thought we did a great job of weathering that." 🗣️
Tyrese reflected on what went right for the Pacers in a big Game 1 win. pic.twitter.com/JDbNFtFYco— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 5, 2025 When TNT's scoreboard malfunctioned in that Game 1 to reflect Cleveland having 245 points, social media attributed the score to another "Cavalanche."
cavalanche pic.twitter.com/JeOkeGbR3W
— nick xANTIROCCHIO (@cdlenthusiast) May 4, 2025 NBA PLAYOFFS HQ: Live NBA scores | NBA playoff schedule | NBA playoff bracket
Cavaliers snow machine
The Cavaliers are all-in on the "Cavalanche" term, so much so that the team has even installed "snow" machines in Rocket Arena.When the team goes on its patented runs, snow-like confetti falls on fans.
The fake snow is out at Rocket Arena. It’s officially a Cavalanche. pic.twitter.com/x9LNboE6nx
— Jackson Flickinger (@JacksFlickinger) April 24, 2025
OUR FIRST IN HOUSE CAVALANCHE! ☃️
YES IT SNOWS IN APRIL HERE IN CLEVELAND. #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/H1bk8g0oNj— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) April 24, 2025
Cavaliers biggest runs
One of the first true "Cavalanches" came early in the 2024-25 season, when the Cavs were facing the Bulls in NBA Cup action.After having a 123-119 lead with around three minutes left in regulation, Cleveland closed the game on a 21-7 run. Because the in-season tournament encourages teams to score as many points as possible no matter the score, the Cavs kept pouring it on.
4Q CAVALANCHE REWIND. #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/rcJjyCjMgL
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) November 16, 2024 Cleveland certainly brought its "Cavalanches" to the playoffs as well. In Game 3 of the first round against the Heat, the team was facing an early 15-6 deficit, then ripped off an 18-0 run in the first quarter and eventually won the game in a blowout.
UPDATE: 18-0 CLEVELAND RUN ‼️
MIA/CLE I Game 3 I TNT https://t.co/shgE2uLvJS pic.twitter.com/OYI5mruD9w— NBA (@NBA) April 26, 2025 Game 4 between Cleveland and Miami was more of the same. The Cavs finished the first quarter up 43-17, absolutely dominating against a Heat team that was clearly ready to close out its season as it faced elimination.
MITCHELL TO ALLEN FOR THE SLAM 💥
Cavs on a 30-8 run to start Game 4 👀#NBAPlayoffs presented by Google on TNT pic.twitter.com/hlnhGmz3Wi— NBA (@NBA) April 28, 2025 Although the game ultimately resulted in a loss, the Cavs did go on a big run against the Pacers in Game 1 of the second round, despite Garland being sidelined. After trailing 80-68 around the halfway mark of the third quarter, Cleveland came storming back on a 20-4 run to take the lead.
Mitchell helped put the exclamation point on the run with a huge dunk:
DONOVAN MITCHELL —
CAVS FANS GOING CRAZY. 🔥🔥🔥🔥
pic.twitter.com/RTWtdSRjyj— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) May 4, 2025