On Tuesday, March 4th, the Cleveland Cavaliers played the Chicago Bulls and star forward Evan Mobley didn't play. He took the night off due to rest, sitting back and let his team come from behind to blow out the Bulls without him.
Despite not playing, however, Mobley accomplished an awful lot on Tuesday -- so much, in fact, that he looks to be near a lock to bring home end-of-season accolades and qualify for his increased Rose Rule max contract as a result. Tuesday's news may equal an extra $45 million for Mobley.
We detailed a couple of weeks ago that Evan Mobley was positioning himself to land a massive payday at the end of the year. He has negotiated a rookie maximum contract extension with the Cavaliers, so he is already on track to make 25 percent of the salary cap and, over the course of five seasons, roughly $224 million.
If Mobley makes an All-NBA Team, however, that number can go up. If he makes Second Team or higher, he will make the rookie supermax, which is 30 percent of the salary cap and worth an estimated $269 million over five years. If he wins Defensive Player of the Year, that same 30 percent kicks in.
The season-ending diagnosis of Victor Wembanyama already opened the door for Mobley to compete for Defensive Player of the Year, and he was neck-and-neck with Memphis Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. in what appeared to be a race that would go down to the wire.
Until Tuesday.
Evan Mobley is now the frontrunner to win DPOY
First, it was announced that the NBA named Evan Mobley the Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month for February, an honor that isn't significant on its own but speaks to the impact Mobley has had and the recognition of it. Every media member that will vote for Defensive Player of the Year saw Mobley beat out Jackson and every other East candidate for February honors, and that will play a part in the voting in just over a month.
Beating out Jackson may not ultimately be necessary, however, after Tuesday's other news. The Memphis Grizzlies announced that Jaren Jackson Jr. has suffered a Grade 2 ankle sprain and will be "week-to-week" moving forward. Sports medicine specialist Jeff Stotts said the average time lost for injuries of that severity is around 3 weeks.
Re: Jaren Jackson Jr.: A Grade 2 sprain is also known as a partial or incomplete tear. Multiple players have sustained G2 ankle sprains in recent seasons, include teammate Ja Morant. The average time lost for injuries of this severity is ~ 3 weeks.
— Jeff Stotts (@InStreetClothes) March 4, 2025
Jackson has been healthy all season long, so he only needs to appear in seven more games to qualify for end-of-year awards. If he does return after exactly three weeks the Grizzlies will have ten games remaining. That's cutting it extremely close.
What's more, Jackson now loses three weeks of time to pass Mobley, who is now at least a slight frontrunner. His lead will only grow as Jackson sits on the sideline. Then he'll need to return at something less than full strength to close the gap.
Mobley has currently played 110 fewer minutes than Jackson, a gap that should close in four games or so. While Jackson's offensive load makes the head-to-head comparison a close race, Mobley has been better on defense, as have the Cleveland Cavaliers. That separation should only grow more stark as Mobley takes the playing time lead as well.
Jackson may not be eligible for Defensive Player of the Year. If he is, he will be well behind Mobley in the running when he returns. In one day, without even playing, Evan Mobley's odds of end-of-season accolades and the pay increase that comes with them went up.
Now he just needs to close the deal.