Few NBA players showcased more improvement in the 2024-25 campaign than Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley.
For one, he averaged a career-high 18.5 points per game and served as a dependable 3-point shooter (a key development), as he shot 37.0 percent from deep on 3.2 attempts per contest. Meanwhile, he checked off a major accomplishment as a defender as well. Mobley won the Defensive Player of the Year award and was a defensive anchor for a Cavaliers team that finished in the top 10 in defensive rating.
In light of the growth Mobley displayed in his fourth NBA season, former NBA floor general Jeff Teague expressed skepticism that the power forward has another level he can still reach as a player.
“That’s probably the best he gonna get,” Teague said of Mobley. “… I think that’s probably the best we gonna see of Evan Mobley. He probably become a better shooter, but his body type — he don’t have a Giannis [Antetokounmpo] build. The only step he could take is like Giannis. He can come that physically imposing to just run people over and go dunk. But his aggressiveness and the way he play just doesn’t mirror Giannis. He don’t move as fluid as Giannis.”
There’s a popular belief that in order for the Cavaliers to get over the hump and win a championship with this current core, Mobley needs to take another step.
The former lottery pick might still have untapped scoring potential. He could have been more aggressive in looking to score the ball than he was a season ago, even though he showed growth in that area. He attempted 12.8 shots per game last season, which ranked third on the team behind guards Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland.
He should have ample opportunities to receive additional touches to kick off the 2025-26 campaign, as Garland is expected to miss some time to start the season after he got surgery on his left big toe. That injury nagged at Garland during the Cavaliers’ time in the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
Mobley can prove Teague’s assertion that he doesn’t have a whole lot more room for growth wrong by playing with newfound levels of aggressiveness and confidence on the offensive end in his fifth pro season. The 24-year-old should perhaps aim to average 20-plus points per game for the first time at the highest level, which seems to be a reasonable goal.
Here’s to hoping that Mobley will end up being a vital piece on a Cavaliers team that goes on to win its second title in franchise history in 2026.