For most of the franchise's history, the national media have looked past the Cleveland Cavaliers. That's the curse of small-market teams, and only having a generational player like LeBron James managed to change that.
It took years for fans and pundits to take the Cavs seriously after LeBron left for the second time. The team rocked the league by running away with the top seed in the Eastern Conference last season, and they entered this year as a potential contender as well.
That's why, now that another future first-ballot Hall of Famer like James Harden is in the mix, it seems like the national media is paying attention again.