Cavs Owner Dan Gilbert Sits Courtside at Home-Opener

CLEVELAND — Dan Gilbert has been back in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse before, but the fact he was spotted in his normal courtside seat for the home-opener was good news to many Cavaliers fans.

Gilbert, 60, received a smattering of applause as he made his way from the tunnel and toward his usual spot on the baseline.

He continues to recover and make progress from a stroke suffered in May 2019, staying mostly out of the limelight since then. That’s especially the case when it comes to the Cavs, with his team politely turning down an interview request from Hoops Wire within the last year.

Gilbert founded Rock Financial with brother Gary Gilbert in 1985, growing the company into one of the largest independent mortgage lenders in the country. He has served as Cavs majority owner since 2005.

Last year, Gilbert was listed as the third-richest owner in all of professional sports, and second-wealthiest in the NBA.

“Now the largest mortgage lender in the United States, Quicken went public as Rocket Companies at a massive $36 billion valuation in August 2020, catapulting Gilbert up the ranks of the world’s richest billionaires,” wrote  Sergei Klebnikov of Forbes.