As the Cleveland Cavaliers continue to dominate in the NBA, part of the reason has been the performance of big man Evan Mobley in his fourth season. As Mobley is getting the help of Cavaliers teammates like Jarrett Allen, he has also received All-Star attention from people such as Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland.
So far this season, Mobley has averaged 18.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 57.5 percent from the field. For Mitchell, he would say that he has “taken that step” and has called it a “beautiful” process to watch and decided that the 23-year-old will be at the All-Star game according to Cleveland.com.
“He has taken that step,” Mitchell said of Mobley. “Everyone has been asking and he has taken that step. It’s beautiful to see. This is the worst that Evan is going to be and it’s not too shabby. He’s an All-Star. He will be in San Francisco in February.”
Mobley’s production could be what the Cavaliers need for further success as was showed in Friday night’s win over the Dallas Mavericks, 134-122, where the star finished with 34 points on 14 for 21 shooting from the field to go along with 10 rebounds.
Cavs’ Evan Mobley was described as a “unicorn”
Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
After the game, Garland would call him not just an All-Star, but also a “unicorn” which is helping them get over the hump.
“All-Star. Unicorn. All-Star, All-Star,” Garland said. “He’s taking us over the top right now. He deserves to be in San Francisco. Hopefully, he will be. I saw him when he first came in and he was just, like, here sometimes. Now, he has a plan, and you can see what’s going through his mind and how aggressive he is. Seeing it all unfold in front of us is really cool. I don’t even think he knows how good he is and how important he is to this team. But we all do.”
“His aggressiveness. His mindset,” Garland continued. “It’s like nobody can mess with him and nobody can guard him.”
Evan Mobley on what it would mean to be an All-Star.
The Cavs are currently on a nine-game winning streak which multiple teammates would stress the importance of finding ways to give Mobley the ball as it has resulted in an immense amount of success. Mitchell would echo the same sentiments.
“Just find ways to get him the ball and find ways to put him in the action,” Mitchell said. “Him and I continuously have conversations throughout the season about ways to get better. He has responded every single time. It’s why he’s an All-Star.”
As for Mobley, he admitted “it would mean everything” to be an All-Star since it would show the work has paid off.
“It’s the confidence in my work that I have put in over the years,” Mobley said. “I’m going to keep putting in the work and trusting the process.”
“I’ve been working really hard to get to that point,” Mobley continued. “That’s not the end goal, it’s just one of them that I have. It’s a huge goal that had coming into this year and the plan is to keep getting there.”
Cleveland currently has the best record in the NBA at 30-4 as they next take on the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday evening.
