Report: Cavs figures have indicated for ‘years’ that their championship hopes hinge on Evan Mobley

It wasn’t until the 2024-25 season that Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley became an All-Star, but he still put together a promising first three seasons in the league before his breakout campaign.

He has been a super impactful two-way player ever since he started out his pro tenure, as he finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting for the 2021-22 season behind only Toronto Raptors star Scottie Barnes. Plus, as a second-year player, he was one of five players named to the All-Defensive First Team and received the third-most votes for the Defensive Player of the Year award.

Considering how productive an NBA player Mobley has been from the jump, perhaps it’s not a surprise that there are figures within the Cavaliers organization who have been saying for “years” that Mobley is the key to their championship hopes.

“Koby Altman was talking about, we need Evan to be our best player,” Cavs insider Chris Fedor said. “And look, people inside this organization have been saying that for two years now that if they’re going to hang another championship banner, it’s not because of Darius Garland. It’s not because of Donovan Mitchell. It’s because Evan is the one that helps them do that.”

Fedor’s comments come in the wake of NBA insider Tim Bontemps arguing that the Cavaliers can’t win a championship with Mitchell as their best player but could if Mobley becomes one of the five or 10 best players in the league.

Mobley seemingly put it all together on both ends of the floor for the Cavaliers in his fourth NBA season. Offensively, he averaged a career-high 18.5 points per game and added a more dependable 3-point shot to his scoring arsenal. After he didn’t average more than 1.3 3s attempted per contest in any of his opening three seasons in the league, he averaged 3.2 attempts from deep per game this season and buried them at a 37.0 percent clip.

Then, defensively, Mobley served as a defensive anchor for a Cavs squad that was one of the best teams in the league on that side of the ball in the regular season, as it ranked eighth in defensive rating. For his efforts on the less glamorous end of the floor, he was named the 2024-25 Defensive Player of the Year and landed another selection to the All-Defensive First Team.

He also took home All-NBA Second Team honors, which would indicate that he was indeed one of the 10 best players in the league during the 2024-25 regular season.