Cavs: Evan Mobley ascends to top spot in latest Kia Rookie Ladder

Ah, yes, the basketball gods have spoken! The 2021-2022 Kia NBA Rookie Ladder has seen three different players in the top spot after three weeks. However, they finally got it right this go-round, albeit in a biased way in this sense. In the Ladder’s third week, the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ Evan Mobley has leap-frogged ahead of Scottie Barnes to secure the top spot. Honestly, it was only a matter of time before this happened. Mobley has simply been too good.

Since the second Rookie Ladder’s release last week, Mobley has been averaging 21 points per game, with seven rebounds, and three assists. But, it’s not only the stats that jump out at you with Mobley, it’s the very real impact he has on the court. Whether it be defense or offense it seems like Mobley just plays further above the rim than most of the NBA. We will get more into Mobley’s play here in a minute, but damn, has he been good.

Following Mobley on the newest edition of the Rookie Ladder is the Raptors’ Scottie Barnes. Barnes and Mobley faced off six days ago, on Nov. 5 in Toronto. Both players were impressive as Mobley had a statline of 18 points and five rebounds on 50 percent shooting. As for Barnes, he finished the night with 14 points and nine rebounds. That said, like I stated before, Mobley’s ability to close out on shooters, and pretty much guard 1-5, make his presence on defense a major factor in the game.

From there, rounding out the top three was the Pacers’ Chris Duarte. The sharpshooter is averaging 16 points per game this year, but has fallen into a bit of a slump lately. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised to see Mobley in the top spot on this list. However, there are still some questions that need to be answered, so let’s just dive in.