Heading into the 2024-25 campaign, Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley never averaged more than 1.3 3-point attempts per game in an NBA season. However, so far this season, he’s taking 3s with much greater frequency than he ever has at the pro level.
Mobley is averaging a career-high 2.4 attempts from deep per contest through 29 games played for the Cavaliers. Perhaps more importantly, he’s been efficient with his 3-point attempts, as he’s knocked down 43.7 percent of his looks from that proximity.
The 23-year-old recently credited his coaches and teammates for his increased confidence in letting it fly from behind the 3-point arc in his fourth NBA season.
“Coaches and teammates, they’ve been really on me,” Mobley said. “Every time I turn down the shot, they tell me to shoot it again and again. Having coaches and teammates like that just helps your confidence. I’m gonna keep letting ‘em fly.”
Mobley showed off his progress as a 3-point shooter in the Cavaliers’ victory over the Denver Nuggets on Friday. He shot 4-of-6 from deep in a game Cleveland won by double digits to improve its record to 27-4 on the campaign.
Friday marked one of his top games of the season so far from a 3-point shooting standpoint. The only game this campaign when he finished with more made 3s came when he buried six attempts against the Charlotte Hornets in a 41-point performance for the youngster earlier on in the month.
The fact that Mobley has added a reliable 3-point shot to his offensive repertoire has made him even more effective on that end of the floor, as he’s averaging a career-high 18.8 points per game and could very well earn the first All-Star nod of his career in the near future.
Mobley can make a 3-pointer for the fourth game in a row if he can connect on a shot from deep when the Cavaliers do battle against the Golden State Warriors on Dec. 30. Fortunately for Cleveland, the Warriors are in a slump, as they’ve lost their last three games and sit at the .500 mark on the season at 15-15.
The Cavaliers can also further their lead over the rest of the Eastern Conference in the standings with a victory over Golden State. Cleveland is already sitting pretty though as it owns a four-game lead over the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics.
