paragraph_text: The Cavaliers -- Warriors rivalry is a National Basketball Association (NBA) rivalry between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. While the two teams have played each other since the Cavaliers joined the league in 1970, their rivalry began to develop in the 2014 -- 15 season, when they met in the first of four consecutive NBA Finals series. Prior to the streak beginning, no pair of teams had faced each other in more than two consecutive Finals. Of these four series, the Warriors have won three championships (2015, 2017, and 2018), and the Cavaliers won in 2016.

paragraph_text: LeBron James James with the Cavaliers in 2017 No. 23 -- Cleveland Cavaliers Position Small forward League NBA (1984 - 12 - 30) December 30, 1984 (age 33) Akron, Ohio Nationality American Listed height 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) Listed weight 250 lb (113 kg) Career information High school St. Vincent -- St. Mary (Akron, Ohio) NBA draft 2003 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers Playing career 2003 -- present Career history 2003 -- 2010 Cleveland Cavaliers 2010 -- 2014 Miami Heat 2014 -- present Cleveland Cavaliers Career highlights and awards 3 × NBA champion (2012, 2013, 2016) 3 × NBA Finals MVP (2012, 2013, 2016) 4 × NBA Most Valuable Player (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013) 14 × NBA All - Star (2005 -- 2018) 3 × NBA All - Star Game MVP (2006, 2008, 2018) 11 × All - NBA First Team (2006, 2008 -- 2017) 2 × All - NBA Second Team (2005, 2007) 5 × NBA All - Defensive First Team (2009 -- 2013) NBA All - Defensive Second Team (2014) NBA Rookie of the Year (2004) NBA All - Rookie First Team (2004) NBA scoring champion (2008) J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award (2017) 2 × AP Athlete of the Year (2013, 2016) 2 × Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year (2012, 2016) USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (2012) 2 × Mr. Basketball USA (2002, 2003) Naismith Prep Player of the Year (2003) McDonald's All - American Game MVP (2003) 3 × Ohio Mr. Basketball (2001 -- 2003) Stats at NBA.com Stats at Basketball-Reference.com Medals (hide) Men's basketball Representing the United States Olympic Games 2008 Beijing Team 2012 London Team 2004 Athens Team FIBA World Championship 2006 Japan FIBA Americas Championship 2007 Las Vegas

paragraph_text: The highest - paid NBA players by season over the past twelve seasons have received contracts with salaries noted in the twenty - million - dollar range. In this twelve - year span, Kevin Garnett received $28,000,000, which was the highest salary payment of any NBA player, during the 2003 -- 04 season. Garnett has been the highest - paid NBA player per year in seven of the past twelve NBA seasons. Michael Jordan was the first NBA player to sign a contract worth over thirty million dollars in a season. During the 1997 -- 98 season, Jordan earned $33,000,000. Kobe Bryant become just the second player to reach this milestone when the 2013 -- 14 season began. LeBron James became the third in the 2016 -- 17 season. Stephen Curry became the first player to eclipse $40 - Million per year when he signed a record 5 - year contract worth $201 - Million in 2017.

paragraph_text: The 2017 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2016 -- 17 season, which began in October 2016. The playoffs began on April 15, 2017. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors defeating the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals. Kevin Durant was named the NBA Finals MVP.

paragraph_text: On July 4, 2016, Durant announced his intentions to sign with the Golden State Warriors in a Players' Tribune piece titled ``My Next Chapter. ''The move was received negatively by the public and NBA analysts, with many comparing the move to LeBron James's 2010 off - season departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat. On July 7, he officially signed with the Warriors on a two - year, $54.3 million contract with a player option after the first year.

paragraph_text: 2017 -- 18 NBA season League National Basketball Association Sport Basketball Duration October 17, 2017 -- April 11, 2018 April 14 -- May 28, 2018 (Playoffs) May 31 -- June 8, 2018 (Finals) Number of games 82 Number of teams 30 TV partner (s) ABC, TNT, ESPN, NBA TV Draft Top draft pick Markelle Fultz Picked by Philadelphia 76ers Regular season Top seed Houston Rockets Season MVP James Harden (Houston) Top scorer James Harden (Houston) Playoffs Eastern champions Cleveland Cavaliers Eastern runners - up Boston Celtics Western champions Golden State Warriors Western runners - up Houston Rockets Finals Champions Golden State Warriors Runners - up Cleveland Cavaliers Finals MVP Kevin Durant (Golden State) NBA seasons ← 2016 -- 17 2018 -- 19 →

paragraph_text: Jeffrey Lynn Green (born August 28, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played three seasons of college basketball for Georgetown, before entering the 2007 NBA draft, where he was selected fifth overall by the Boston Celtics. He was subsequently traded to the Seattle SuperSonics (now known as the Oklahoma City Thunder). He spent four seasons with the franchise before being traded back to the Celtics during the 2010 -- 11 season, where he played until 2015 before being traded to the Memphis Grizzlies. In 2016, he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. He spent half a season with the Clippers before joining the Magic following the 2015 -- 16 season.

paragraph_text: James played high school basketball at St. Vincent -- St. Mary High School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, where he was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar. After graduating, he was selected by his home team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, as the first overall pick of the 2003 NBA draft. James led Cleveland to the franchise's first Finals appearance in 2007, ultimately losing to the San Antonio Spurs. In 2010, he left the Cavaliers for the Miami Heat in a highly publicized ESPN special titled The Decision. James spent four seasons with the Heat, reaching the Finals all four years and winning back - to - back championships in 2012 and 2013. In 2013, he led Miami on a 27 - game winning streak, the third longest in league history. Following his final season with the Heat in 2014, James opted out of his contract and returned to the Cavaliers. From 2015 to 2017, he led the Cavaliers to three consecutive Finals, winning his third championship in 2016 to end Cleveland's 52 - year professional sports title drought.

paragraph_text: The highest - paid NBA players by season over the past twelve seasons have received contracts with salaries noted in the twenty - million - dollar range. In this twelve - year span, Kevin Garnett received $28,000,000, which was the highest salary payment of any NBA player, during the 2003 -- 04 season. Garnett has been the highest - paid NBA player per year in seven of the past twelve NBA seasons. Michael Jordan was the first NBA player to sign a contract worth over thirty million dollars in a season. During the 1997 -- 98 season, Jordan earned $33,000,000. Kobe Bryant become just the second player to reach this milestone when the 2013 -- 14 season began. LeBron James became the third in the 2016 -- 17 season. Stephen Curry became the first player to eclipse $40 - Million per year when he signed a record 5 year contract worth $201 - Million in 2017.

paragraph_text: Rick Roberson (born July 7, 1947) is a retired professional basketball player who played in the NBA for the Los Angeles Lakers (1969–71), Cleveland Cavaliers (1971–73), Portland Trail Blazers (1973–74), New Orleans Jazz (1974–75) and Kansas City Kings (1975–76).

paragraph_text: Tyronn Jamar Lue (/ təˈrɒn ˌluː /, born May 3, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

paragraph_text: Christian Eyenga Moenge (born June 22, 1989) is a Congolese professional basketball player for Montakit Fuenlabrada of the Liga ACB. In June 2009, Eyenga was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 30th pick in that year's NBA Draft. When drafted, he played for the Spanish Third Division club Prat, an affiliate of the ACB club DKV Joventut.

paragraph_text: Roy Hinson (born May 2, 1961) is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round (20th pick overall) of the 1983 NBA draft. Hinson attended Franklin High School in Franklin Township, New Jersey. He then played his college career at Rutgers University in nearby New Brunswick. A 6'9" forward–center, Hinson played in eight NBA seasons from 1983 to 1991, for the Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets.

paragraph_text: NBA 2K18 is a basketball simulation video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. It is the 19th installment in the NBA 2K franchise and the successor to NBA 2K17. It was released in September 2017 for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, and Xbox 360. Kyrie Irving serves as cover athlete for the regular edition of the game, Shaquille O'Neal is the cover athlete for the special editions, and DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors is the cover athlete for the game in Canada. While a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers when selected for the cover, Irving was traded to the Boston Celtics prior to the game's release. As a result, a new cover depicting Irving in a Celtics uniform was revealed alongside the original cover.

paragraph_text: Player Salary Team LeBron James $30,963,450 Cleveland Cavaliers Al Horford $26,540,100 Boston Celtics DeMar DeRozan $26,540,100 Toronto Raptors James Harden $26,540,100 Houston Rockets Kevin Durant $26,540,100 Golden State Warriors Russell Westbrook $26,540,100 Oklahoma City Thunder Mike Conley, Jr. $26,540,100 Memphis Grizzlies Dirk Nowitzki $25,000,000 Dallas Mavericks Carmelo Anthony $24,559,380 New York Knicks Damian Lillard $24,328,425 Portland Trail Blazers

paragraph_text: In 2014, James returned to the Cavaliers after four seasons in Miami. While the Heat had a 224 -- 88 record during James' four - year tenure and won NBA titles in 2012 and 2013, the Cavaliers went 97 -- 215 and missed the playoffs each season. The Cavaliers made several moves to build a championship - contender around James, most notably acquiring power forward Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves, which created what many fans and media referred to a ``Big Three ''with James, Love, and Irving. The Lebron - led Cavaliers made four consecutive finals appearances in from 2015 to 2018, all against the Golden State Warriors, winning in 2016. The 2016 NBA Championship marked the Cavaliers' first title in franchise history, as they became the first team to come back from a 3 -- 1 deficit to win the Finals. It was also Cleveland's first championship in major professional sports since the 1964 Browns, signaling the end of the so - called Cleveland sports curse.

paragraph_text: Brevin Adon Knight (born November 8, 1975) is an American retired professional basketball point guard who played with nine teams in the NBA from 1997 to 2009. Knight played college basketball at Stanford University and was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1997. He is the brother of Brandin Knight.

paragraph_text: Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. (/ dweɪn / dwain; born January 17, 1982) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After a successful college career at Marquette, Wade was drafted fifth overall in the 2003 NBA draft by the Miami Heat. He was named to the All - Rookie team and the All - Star team the following twelve seasons. In his third season, Wade led the Heat to their first NBA championship in franchise history and was named the 2006 NBA Finals MVP. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Wade led the United States men's basketball team, commonly known as the ``Redeem Team '', in scoring, and helped them capture gold medal honors in Beijing, China. In the 2008 -- 09 season, Wade led the league in scoring and earned his first NBA scoring title. With LeBron James and Chris Bosh, Wade helped guide Miami to four consecutive NBA Finals from 2011 to 2014, winning back - to - back championships in 2012 and 2013. In 2016, Wade departed the Heat in free agency to play for his hometown Chicago Bulls, then leaving them after one season to join the Cavaliers.

paragraph_text: Darren Tillis (born February 23, 1960) is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Boston Celtics in the first round (23rd pick overall) of the 1982 NBA Draft. A 6'11" center born in Dallas, Texas and from Cleveland State University, Tillis played in 2 NBA seasons. He played for the Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors.

paragraph_text: The 2016 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA) 2015 -- 16 season and conclusion of the 2016 playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors 4 -- 3 in a rematch of the 2015 NBA Finals. It was the 14th rematch of the previous NBA Finals in history, and the first Finals since 2008 in which the number one seed in each conference met. It was the second straight rematch in back - to - back years, as the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs played each other in 2013 and 2014.

Question: When did the highest salaried NBA player join the Cleveland franchise?
Answer: 2003