Evan Mobley has fallen out of ESPN’s top 25, giving the Cleveland Cavaliers another reminder of the offensive progress they need from their frontcourt cornerstone.
Mobley landed at No. 26 in ESPN’s NBA Rank release Wednesday, down from No. 13 a year ago. The accompanying evaluation by Bobby Marks pointed to a step backward offensively after Mobley’s 2025 Defensive Player of the Year season.
The ranking carries an important distinction: ESPN asked its panel to forecast contributions during the 2026-27 regular season. It is a projection, rather than a vote on what Mobley has accomplished over his career.
Still, the clearest explanation for the concern lies in his shooting. Cleveland does not need to imagine an entirely different player to see a path forward; Mobley has already demonstrated a level of accuracy that would make this offense harder to defend.
Evan Mobley’s shooting decline goes beyond his scoring average
The Cavaliers’ official postseason guide shows how little his scoring average changed compared with his shooting percentages. Mobley averaged 18.2 points per game in the 2025-26 regular season after averaging 18.5 in 2024-25.
His 3-point accuracy, however, fell from 37.0 percent to 29.7 percent. His free-throw shooting dropped from 72.5 percent to 60.6 percent.
| Regular season | Points per game | 3-point shooting | Free-throw shooting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 18.5 | 37.0% | 72.5% |
| 2025-26 | 18.2 | 29.7% | 60.6% |
That matters to Cleveland’s spacing. A defender who trusts Mobley’s outside shot has a harder decision when James Harden or Donovan Mitchell turns the corner.
Stay close to Mobley, and there is less help available in the lane. Sag toward the ball, and Cleveland has a cleaner kickout opportunity.
The percentages alone cannot establish how every opponent guarded him. They do explain why recovering his earlier touch would be valuable alongside another interior target in Jarrett Allen, part of Cleveland’s projected starting lineup.
Free throws present a separate opportunity. Better conversion would allow Mobley to get more out of contact around the basket without needing additional possessions drawn up for him.
Cleveland can benefit from improved efficiency even if his place in the scoring hierarchy stays the same.
Mobley’s playoff impact deserves a closer look
Marks also contrasted Cleveland’s positive regular-season results with Mobley on the floor with a weaker postseason performance. That is useful context, but a lineup’s scoring margin cannot isolate one player’s responsibility. Teammates, opponents and substitutions all affect it.
There were also games that showed how much Mobley can contribute beyond finishing a possession. In Game 5 against Detroit on May 13, he delivered 19 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three blocks.
That kind of passing offers another way to make a defense pay for committing extra attention to Cleveland’s guards. If Mobley catches the ball after a screen against a rotating defense, an immediate pass to an open teammate can be as damaging as a finish at the rim.
The distinction is important when discussing his next step. More points would help, but Cleveland also needs possessions in which Mobley turns the advantage created by a guard into a good shot for someone else.
Asking him to recognize those openings consistently is more specific than simply demanding that he become more aggressive.
What the Cavs need from Mobley next
The practical questions for the coming season are whether Mobley can restore his shooting, convert more free throws and make quicker decisions when the defense shifts toward Harden or Mitchell.
Those skills reinforce one another. A credible outside shot can draw a closer contest, which creates opportunities to attack a defender’s momentum.
Once help arrives, the next pass becomes available. If a defender instead concedes the jumper, Mobley has to make that choice costly often enough to change the coverage.
Cleveland does not need every possession to end with him taking a shot. It needs his touches to keep the defense moving and prevent opponents from concentrating all their attention on the backcourt.
Mobley’s place on next year’s list will follow the results. For the Cavaliers, the more meaningful measure will be whether opponents have fewer comfortable choices when the ball reaches him.
