Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley Captures Defensive Player of the Year

Apart from their 64 wins and No.1 seed in the Eastern Conference, one of the bright spots in the Cleveland Cavaliers regular season was the stellar play of Evan Mobley—the newly enshrined Defensive Player of the Year. The honor is more than deserved, as Mobley’s numbers, production, and overall impact played a significant role in Cleveland’s phenomenal season. Mobley shined on both ends of the floor, defensively and offensively, and he’s a consequential reason why the Cavaliers played as well as they did this season and why they have everything they need to go deep in the playoffs. Mobley’s win also includes a little piece of Cavs history.

Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley Captures Defensive Player of the Year

Evan Mobley becomes first Cleveland Cavaliers player in league history to win Defensive Player of the Year

ESPN’s Shams Charania broke the news late Thursday afternoon, a day after the Cleveland stretched their round one series lead over the Miami Heat to two games (2-0). No member of the Cavaliers franchise has ever captured an NBA DPOY award. It’s one reason Mobley’s accomplishment brings an even greater sense of “special” to the table. The 2024-25 season has by far turned out to be Mobley’s best of his four-year career. The season also included his first of many more to come All-Star selections. During the regular season, Mobley averaged 18.5 points on 55.7% from the field, including 37.0% from the three-point line. Additionally, he added 9.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists a night, playing an average of 30 minutes. 

There’s no doubt that Mobley is transitioning into one of the top-tier big men across the league, and his rise keeps on building. According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, being in DPOY contention was in the back of Mobley’s mind before the season began. 

“It definitely was a goal of mine coming into this year,” Mobley said. “I put all the work in, so it’s a big day.”

Mobley won the award with 285 points over Dyson Daniels, Draymond Green, Lu Dort, and Amen Thompson. Mobley’s work paid off, but the work isn’t over. The Cavaliers are pushing for an NBA finals trip and the chance at the title.

Mobley must be his regular season self in the playoffs

As a team, the Cavaliers have started their postseason journey off as many expected. They’re up on the Heat as the series heads to South Beach for Games 3 and 4. Unfortunately for Miami, they don’t have much of a shot at knocking off the Cavaliers. They might steal one game at home, but likely no more. They’re the tenth seed playing the one seed, which doesn’t spell a positive future.

Despite Cleveland being up two games, Mobley has started off somewhat slow. He only scored nine points in Game 1 on a poor shooting night (4-10). He did manage to improve his production in Game 2, scoring 20 points and going 7-10, including 50% from three (3-6). Perhaps it was just the jitters of Game 1, but the Game 2 Mobley is who Cleveland needs for the next series and beyond. They can get past Miami without Mobley at his best, but if there was ever a better ramp-up opportunity, it’s against a much lesser opponent. Mobley and Co. resume their series against the Heat on Saturday with the intent of going up 3-0.