{"id":166623,"date":"2025-09-24T18:08:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T18:08:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/166623\/"},"modified":"2025-09-24T18:08:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T18:08:07","slug":"cavaliers-gm-believes-evan-mobley-can-break-into-the-nbas-top-five-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/166623\/","title":{"rendered":"Cavaliers GM believes Evan Mobley can break into the NBA\u2019s top five players"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cleveland Cavaliers have very high expectations<\/a> as a team this year. Cleveland has its deepest and best roster since the last LeBron era and is poised to take advantage of the weakened Eastern Conference, which will be without Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton.<\/p>\n

Expectations aren\u2019t just high for team success but also for players individually. Evan Mobley had a breakthrough season last year,<\/a> finishing 10th in MVP voting and winning the Defensive Player of the Year award, in addition to his best year as a scorer as a professional, averaging 18.5 points per game.<\/p>\n

Despite having a career season in just his fourth year as a pro, it\u2019s clear that Mobley and the front office still have their sights set on him reaching even higher heights. Yesterday, at the Cavs\u2019 preseason media availability, Koby Altman had this to say about Mobley: \u201cHe\u2019s been locked in. He\u2019s really serious about taking that leap to being a top-five player in this league.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evan is READY. #LetEmKnow<\/a>| #WatchRockSports<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/V7KYjNQgn3<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Rock Entertainment Sports Network (@watchrocksports) September 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

The improvement of Mobley and how necessary it was to take a step forward was a large talking point last offseason, as the Cavs needed him to come into his own if they wanted to start making serious advancements as a championship contender. Mobley did that in spades last season.<\/p>\n

If Mobley is taking that same mindset into this season, but only cranking it up a couple more notches, it could get very scary for the rest of the NBA. Evan already made the three-pointer more of a weapon in his game last year, hitting 60 more than in any previous season, but he\u2019s already playing at a league-best level on defense and affecting winning at a higher rate than almost anyone in the league.<\/p>\n

Mobley\u2019s teamwork rating <\/a>last year measured how much his presence created a positive margin for his team compared to other players in the league. He ranked in the 98th percentile, making him part of the NBA\u2019s elite when it comes to improving his team\u2019s performance on the court.<\/p>\n

The next big step for Evan will be to consistently dominate on offense to make that leap into the top five. Evan will need to be averaging between 22\u201325 points per game while becoming more of a focal point in the Cavs\u2019 offense by creating his own shots. This is something he\u2019s very capable of, as long as he\u2019s taking enough shots.<\/p>\n

Mobley ranks higher than 88% of players in effective field goal percentage and higher than 91% of players in true shooting percentage.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s as efficient as it gets on offense and the absolute best the league has to offer on defense. If Evan has his eyes set on being a top-five player in the NBA, I feel bad for anyone standing in his way.<\/p>\n