Big Daddy
Joe Gabriele
Cavs.com Beat Writer
This offseason, the winds of change blew through the Cavaliers roster – whisking out Wally, Sasha and Big Ben and welcoming the Diesel, two key free agents and a versatile rookie from North Carolina.
Change is part of professional sports. It’s part of life. But for the past dozen years, there’s been one Cavaliers constant – Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
Big Z’s played through the worst season in Cavaliers history and the best. He’s witnessed the development of the game’s most prolific player. He’s seen front office, coaching and ownership changes. Even the team’s colors have changed during the Large Lithuanian’s tenure.
Through it all, the only thing that Big Z has changed is hairstyles – going from some to none.
This year is different for the Wine and Gold’s immovable object. He’ll be coming off the bench for the first time in a decade, playing and practicing against the generation’s greatest big man.
(“I’ve always been high on Shaq,” said Ilgauskas. “He’s the best center I’ve ever played against, so if somebody’s going to replace me in the starting lineup, I don’t mind that it’s him.”)
But taking on Shaquille O’Neal on a daily basis at Cleveland Clinic Courts might seem like a piece of cake compared to he and his wife’s other seismic life change.
This summer, Z and his wife, Jennifer, adopted two boys – five-year-old Deividas and four-year-old Povilas – from an orphanage in Ilgauskas’ hometown of Kaunas, Lithuanian. “Beautiful boys – two brothers,” beamed Big Z. “I’m not sleeping as much, obviously.”
Zydrunas and Jennifer first met the boys when they visited Kaunas last summer, and over the next few months they worked out the adoption – doubling the Ilgauskas family in the process.
“We’re like any other family – we have our ups and downs,” added Z. “They can’t speak any English, so a lot of it falls on me right now – communication-wise. Once they learn some English, it’ll be a lot easier for them, I think. They just started school, so it’s good.”
Big Z laughed about how eager the boys are to see him when he comes home from practice. (“They’re all over me as soon as I come through the door.”) Conditions at the orphanage in Kaunas – as well as the parental situation the blonde-haired brothers came from – was far from ideal. And the boys are now living in a world of discoveries.
According to pops, they’ve already broken all the remote controls around the house – and their new dad couldn’t care less.
“It’s been a blast, and it’s been challenging, at times,” said the two-time All-Star. “All in all, it’s been a great experience. It’s been an adjustment for everybody, but we’re a big family now. It’s been great so far.”
Both Z and Jennifer – as well as Paulivus and Davidus – have seen their lives go from 0-to-60, almost overnight. At 34, Ilgauskas has done almost everything but win the Championship. Last year, he broke the team mark for rebounds and blocked shots. And early this season, he will surpass Danny Ferry on the Cavaliers all-time games-played list at 723.
“I’m in a happy place in my life right now – I’m really satisfied,” said Z. “I’m kind of content in where I am, as a person and a player. With the kids – it’s obviously completed our family. We already had great lives, but it’s getting better. It’s challenging and a little harder, but you get rewards in other areas.”
With so much on his plate at home, maybe coming off the bench will be a welcome change for the 11-year veteran. It’s not something totally new to Z.
“I (came off the bench) a long time ago, with John Lucas, when I was coming off my foot surgery,” cited Z. “It’s still basketball, but it’s a little bit of an adjustment. I’ll have to find what’s the right mindset for me; how to prepare for games. Really, it all boils down to basketball and I’m going to play every game and get my minutes, so you just need to be ready whenever they need you.”
The Cavaliers’ man in the middle has seen his conventional world turned upside down over the summer. As a new father – and sixth man – Big Z will make the adjustment. He will, because the final aspect Z would like to change about his career is the addition of a Championship ring.
