Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell sat down with Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report recently and used part of the time to reflect on Cleveland’s 2024-25 campaign. The Cavaliers rolled through the regular season as they won 64 games, but they ultimately came up well short of a championship. The team lost to the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
One topic Mitchell touched on during the nearly hour-long interview with Rooks was big man Evan Mobley’s level of aggressiveness on the offensive side of the ball. He wants Mobley, who had his best offensive campaign in the NBA to date this past season, to be more aggressive on that end and demand the ball.
“Evan doesn’t even know what he is yet,” Mitchell said. “I’ve seen it in flashes. The Boston series, when I was out, he was him. Defensive Player of the Year at 23. First-Team All-Defense. But offensively? He’s just scratching the surface. He has it.
“Now it’s about aggression, consistency, demanding the ball. That’s what I keep telling him. No, we need more. Demand it. If I don’t pass you the ball, get on my a–. If D.G. (Darius Garland) don’t give you the ball, get on his a–.”
The playoff series in question against the Boston Celtics that Mitchell is referring to took place in the second round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
Mitchell missed the final two games of the best-of-seven series (which only lasted five games) with a calf injury, and Mobley scored 52 points while shooting a combined 23-of-37 from the field in that two-game span. He was maybe the best offensive player on the floor for either team in Game 5 of that series, as he racked up 33 points.
It’s been a common theme for a while now that people within the Cavaliers organization believe Mobley needs to up his assertiveness in order for Cleveland to be at its best. Cavaliers veterans allegedly pushed for Mobley to have a bigger role before the 2024-25 season, and head coach Kenny Atkinson revealed that Mitchell, Garland and Jarrett Allen all pointed to Mobley as their “next step.”
Mobley is more prepared to be an offensive focal point than he was earlier in his career now that he has a reliable 3-point shot in his toolbox. He attempted 3.2 3s per game in the 2024-25 campaign and made them at a 37.0 percent clip.
Maybe the 2025-26 season is the season when Mobley will stake his claim as one of the premier offensive players in the league. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year has already proven himself to be an elite defender at the highest level.