Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley revealed two exciting goals that he has for himself in the 2024-25 season.
#Cavs big man Evan Mobley said he wants to be an All-Star and re-enter the Defensive Player of the Year conversation.
— Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan) September 30, 2024
Mobley has never earned an All-Star nod in his NBA career, but if he makes the leap to becoming one this season, it would be a good sign for the Cavs.
Cleveland has been hoping that the former No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft will take a leap, and it showed confidence in him by awarding him with a new contract extension this offseason.
As for the Defensive Player of the Year race, Mobley was in the conversation in his second NBA season, finishing third in the voting. Unfortunately, he missed too many games last season (32) to qualify for the award in the 2023-24 season.
The NBA now requires players to have played in at least 65 games to be eligible for awards like the MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player. Mobley only appeared in 50 games last season.
There is still a ton of room for growth for Mobley, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
New Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson will be tasked with getting the most out of Mobley this season, and he apparently studied San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama while coaching him in the Olympics to give him ideas on how to use Mobley in Cleveland.
Mobley’s growth as a scorer has been stunted a bit after a promising rookie season where he averaged 15.0 points on 12 shots per game.
He averaged 16.2 points per game in his second season and 15.7 points per game last season. He took his fewest field goal attempts per game (11.0) in his third NBA season.
Part of the reason for that is the addition of Donovan Mitchell to the Cavs roster, as he’s taken on a major role scoring the ball – leaving less opportunities for Mobley on offense.
However, Mobley’s offensive game still needs to expand when it comes to his use as a shooter. Last season, he did show growth from beyond the arc, hitting 37.3 percent of his attempts (a career-high), but he did that on just 1.2 attempts per game.
If Mobley can become a true threat from 3, it’ll make him a very dangerous offensive player.
For Cavs fans, Mobley’s series against the Boston Celtics in the playoffs last season could be a sign that he’s ready to make the All-Star leap.
Across five games against Boston, Mobley averaged 21.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.0 block per game while shooting 62.7 percent from the field. The Cavs big man also scored a playoff career-high 33 points in Game 5 of that series.
Hopefully, Mobley will be able to reach both of his goals during the 2024-25 season.
