Last season, Evan Mobley enjoyed the best year of his career. He improved in all aspects offensively from his shooting to his playmaking to his shot volume, while maintaining his efficiency, while maintaining his elite defensive ability.
Mobley’s career season culminated in him winning his first Defensive Player of the Year award, a selection to the All-NBA second-team, and a top-ten finish in MVP voting. It was an absolute banner year for the big man, who justified the max contract he received in the 2024 offseason.
FanSided recently released its top 25 under 25 list, and Mobley came in fifth behind Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Edwards, Cade Cunningham, and Paolo Banchero. The first three are completely valid, but when the list gets to Banchero, it becomes a little questionable.
Mobley’s spot behind less accomplished Banchero left Cavaliers fans baffled
Mobley is better than Banchero.
It cannot get any more plain than that. Mobley is the far superior two-way player compared to Banchero, which should go without saying. He is one of the few big men in the league who can guard one through five, while offering elite rim protection.
Banchero is below-average on that end of the floor, but by no means a liability. Mobley is at worst a top five defender in the NBA. Banchero is nowhere near that.
Offensively, the two players are different in terms of style, but Mobley is far and away the more efficient player with the touches he gets, and his basketball IQ. Mobley has shown that he will rarely settle for a bad shot.
He only held the ball for six or more seconds 11 percent of the time last year, compared to 31 percent for Banchero. That is also a byproduct of Mobley getting more help from his guards in Darius Garland, and Donovan Mitchell, but the ball never stops with Mobley. It does with Banchero.
The two’s efficiency metrics are almost night and day. On shots that were less than ten feet, Mobley shot 65 percent, compared to Banchero’s 57 percent. On open and wide open threes, Mobley shot 38 percent, compared to Banchero’s 33 percent. Even on catch and shoot looks, Mobley was the superior player at 39 percent, whereas Banchero was at 34 percent.
Banchero is the better volume scorer, as he averaged a career-best 25 PPG last year in 46 games. Mobley is just beginning to get a similar volume of touches this season, but he has shown more overall offensive versatility. He can operate in the short roll, around the rim, space the floor, and handle the ball in transition.
We do have to look at the comparison between the two last season on a bit of a curve, as Banchero did not play the full year last season, but we do have a playoff sample where the two faced off.
Mobley had his way with Banchero in the Cavs' series against the Orlando Magic series in 2024. Banchero shot 32 percent from the field (16-for-50), 31 percent from three, and had nine turnovers with Mobley as his primary defender over the course of seven games. Mobley pretty much erased the offensive impact of Banchero in that series.
If you want more aesthetically pleasing buckets, and volume scoring, then Banchero is your guy. However, having the ability to impact the game significantly on both ends of the floor is rare in today’s game, especially for bigs. Mobley has shown that ability. Banchero has not. And that is where the difference between the two is.