Evan Mobley's Cavaliers Future: Comparing his progress against NBA unicorns

Evan Mobley is entering the fourth season of his NBA career, and the Cleveland Cavaliers' title chances greatly rely on his progress. If Cleveland wants to contend for a title seriously, it is no secret that they need Mobley to make a big leap and become an All-NBA talent.

The former 2021 third-overall pick has been great defensively thus far in his short NBA career, but his offense is still raw and unpolished. He showed flashes of being able to create offensively in the NBA Playoffs but not consistently.

Evan Mobley is still at the young age of 23, so there is plenty of hope and promise for his growth. Sometimes it is good to examine how similar players progressed through their first four seasons. This can be a good indicator if there is much room for improvement or if the ship has sailed on Mobley becoming a superstar.

Mobley is a very unique talent with his size, length, skill, IQ, and athletic ability so there are not many examples to compare to. Evan Mobley is what they call a "Unicorn" in the NBA. His size and blend of talents gives him unlimited potential, but being great in the NBA takes a lot more than just raw ability. Before looking at other players in comparison, let's first examine Mobley's third season from a statistical standpoint.

Mobley's year-three development

Many Cavalier fans were disappointed last season as they expected that large "third-year leap", but not every player has the same path. Statistically, Mobley was very similar from his second season to his third. In his second season, Mobley averaged 16.2 points, 9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.5 blocks per game on 55 percent from field goal range and 21 percent from deep. Last season, Mobley averaged 15.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 blocks per game on 58 percent from the field and 37 percent from deep. The only noticeable difference is the three-point percentage which would be a great thing for Mobley to improve on. However, Mobley only played 50 regular season games last season and only shot 1.2 threes per game. So, it's not the biggest sample size to get too excited over a percentage.

Mobley's VORP (Value Over Replacement Player) and Win Shares both dropped from year two to year three from 2.5 to 1.9 and 8.5 to 5.5 respectively. However, Mobley's PER (Player Efficiency Rating) went up from 17.9 to 20.1. So, the advanced stats say Mobley was a more efficient offensive player but was affecting the game less overall. Mobley missed 32 games last season due to injuries, which can make it hard to find your rhythm, and his statistics shouldn't be judged too harshly because of that.

Mobley's greatest sign of improvement was the series against the Boston Celtics. In Mobley's debut playoff series last season against the New York Knicks, he averaged 9.8 points and 10 rebounds per game on 46 percent field goal shooting. Then, in the first round against Orlando this time, he improved his scoring to 12.1 points per game and also averaged 9.1 rebounds on 48 percent from the field.

In the five-game series against Boston, Mobley averaged an eye-popping 21.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists on 63 percent from the field. Mobley played the best basketball career on the biggest stage yet in his tenure. Notably, the entire Boston series was played without Jarrett Allen. If Mobley isn't able to find this momentum next season, the Cavs may have to seriously consider moving Allen to let Mobley flourish at the center position.

How does Mobley's progression compare to other famed NBA big men? With numerous comparisons throughout his career, Mobley's fourth season will hold weight on his ultimate trajectory and place in the league.

Now, let's take a look at other "unicorns" and how they fared in their third and fourth seasons.