Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell Makes Bold Evan Mobley Claim

When looking at the Most Valuable Player discussion around the NBA from this past season, it was one that was dominated by a few key names in the form of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic after two dominant seasons on their behalf.

However, when asking Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell, someone who might be a bit overlooked within that MVP discussion for both now and looking ahead, has been none other than his teammate, Evan Mobley, someone who he sees with the chops to elevate into that conversation sooner rather than later.

During the Cavaliers' second summer league game in Las Vegas, Mitchell, who may even be in that MVP discussion himself, joined the team broadcast to share a bit of his thoughts on his teammate Mobley having an opportunity to take that next step.

"I think two things can be true," Mitchell said. "I think when we talk about the MVP, we think of 30-10-10, like, Jokic. We think of Shai Gilgeous, like, averaging 30. There's so many different ways. If Evan turns around to be a 30-point-per-game scorer, I'm not complaining, but I think what he does for our group–– just that alone... Look at his plus-minus, look at our record when he wasn't out there on the floor. He's just so important to our group. That alone gets him into the MVP conversation. But, I also feel the steps he's going to take for us to continue to get to that level, he has to be at least somewhat in that conversation."