Many have comfortably settled on the idea that the Cleveland Cavaliers will be the best team in the Eastern Conference during the 2025-26 NBA season. Others still need more convincing. A key reason for that? The conversation around who the team's best player is.
Most would currently identify Donovan Mitchell as the leading man for the Cavaliers. Mitchell has been pegged as a playoff riser by many, but there are some practical results that show his teams do not reap the rewards of that uptick in production.
During an appearance on The Kevin O'Connor Show, Trey Kerby pitched the idea forward that one of the biggest reasons for doubting what the Cavaliers can accomplish in 2025-26 is Evan Mobley. More precisely, it's the fact that Mobley is not Cleveland's best player yet.
"The best version of the Cavs is probably a team where Evan Mobley is their clear-cut best player," Kerby said. "He's already their best defensive player. He's maybe their second best offensive player. ... Mobley coming to his own is the way the Cavs really go to the next level."
Evan Mobley making the leap is a necessity for Cavaliers' title dreams
A big part of this conversation comes from debating certainty versus potential. There is already a rough idea of what a Mitchell-led team looks like. By contrast, Mobley's ceiling is still unknown, sparking enough curiosity about the heights which can be reached.
Teams led by Mitchell have never made an appearance in a Conference Finals. That is notable considering the talented teams which the explosive guard has enjoyed being a part of throughout his career.
Perhaps the Utah Jazz squads with Mitchell as their best player were never quite good enough to be considered a true title contender. However, the discussion worth having there revolves around how much of the blame for that falls on his shoulders.
Even last season, Mitchell was surrounded with a 64-win team in Cleveland. An injury to Darius Garland shook them up to the point of elimination. The shortcoming remains all the same.
Mobley is someone many believe has MVP-level upside. That version of the Cavaliers big man is the one needed in Cleveland for a championship to be within striking distance.
Do the Cavaliers get that in 2025-26 from the 24-year-old? That idea is tough to fully invest in.
The needed Mobley leap is coming. At the least, that is what fans in Cleveland will hope. Whether it comes fast enough to capitalize on this contention window is the question the Cavaliers will need answered.