At seven feet tall, Evan Mobley is hard to miss on a basketball court. Along with Jarrett Allen, the Cleveland Cavaliers consistently top the defensive ratings across the league. During Evan Mobley’s first year, Jarrett Allen served as the anchor of the defense as Mobley developed his already great defensive abilities.
In Mobley’s sophomore year, his defense has only continued to advance game by game, and he’s been trending up overall. Including a performance with seven blocks against the Washington Wizards back in November, Evan Mobley has become a powerhouse already in the NBA.
As of today, Mobley was third in the latest Defensive Player of the Year from NBA.com, behind only Milwaukee’s Brook Lopez and Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr.
Currently, Mobley has a strong case to be ranked number one. With Jarrett Allen remaining out with an eye injury, Evan Mobley has a chance to bolster his already impressive resume in the final stretch of his DPOY campaign.
Mobley has a strong case for DPOY, and he’ll have a chance to strengthen that in ensuing Cavs contests.
As of Saturday, Evan Mobley has the highest Defensive Win Shares this season with 9.7, per NBA.com. He also ranks 10th in the league for blocks per game with 1.4.
Brook Lopez leads the league in shot contests, defending a total of 1,185 thus far, and Evan Mobley is ranked second with 790 this season. Although Lopez has a significant lead in overall contested shots, Evan Mobley leads the league in three-point shots contested at 257 currently.
When discussing Defensive Player of the Year, the conversation is bigger than blocks or steals each game. Look at Evan Mobley, he has consistently shown a vastly diverse defensive skill set for the Cavs.
Having elite interior defense paired with elite perimeter defense as a seven foot tall power forward places Evan Mobley in the upper echelon of defenders. The impact he shows on the defensive side of the ball is something unseen anywhere else in the NBA.
As the season winds down, Evan Mobley should receive more and more attention for his defensive talent. Outside of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, Isaac Okoro is the tallest regular starter on the Cavs’ roster at 6-feet-5 inches tall.
To be able to continuously maintain a top three defense across the 30 teams with an undersized roster, Mobley’s impact is nothing short of historic and should be awarded as such.