CLEVELAND — When Nick Gilbert was 14, he wore a bow tie to represent the Cleveland Cavaliers at the 2011 NBA Draft Lottery.
The oldest son of Cavs chairman Dan Gilbert and his wife, Jennifer, watched as the team landed the No. 1 draft pick, which it used to select Kyrie Irving.
“It was quite a sight,” Dan Gilbert said after the lottery win. “I am very happy for him, too. He has been a lucky kid his whole life and overcome a lot of great odds. It’s a very good thing that he was a part of this.”
Nick returned with his trademark bow tie in 2013 — and so did Cleveland’s good fortune. The Cavs drew the first pick yet again. They used that pick to select Anthony Bennett, which didn’t turn out so great.
But once again in 2014, then-general manager David Griffin wore Nick’s bow tie as a handkerchief in his suit jacket as the Cavs once more saw the ping pong balls come out their way to land another first overall pick that would turn into Andrew Wiggins.
The bow tie also made an appearance before the 2021 lottery when then-general manager Koby Altman, who has since been promoted to president of basketball operations, unwrapped two of them in a package delivered to his hotel room in Chicago. One was Nick’s original bow tie that preceded a first-round draft pick and…
