The Cleveland Cavaliers are focusing on making an NBA Finals run this year after earning the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. However, they received some good news for star big man Evan Mobley. Mobley was named the Defensive Player of the Year after beating out Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors and Dyson Daniels of the Atlanta Hawks, the other finalists for the award.
It was quite the feat for Mobley, who became the first player in Cavs franchise history to win the award. Mobley, the former USC Trojans star, received 35 of the 100 first-place votes for DPOY. Daniels finished second with 25 first-place votes, followed by Green in third with 15 first-place votes.
On Thursday night, Mobley was hilariously interrupted by two of his Cavs teammates during his DPOY acceptance speech on the NBA on TNT set.
āIt was a big goal of mine coming into this year,ā Mobley said.
The NBA on TNT crew asked Mobley a series of questions before Darius Garland and Tristan Thompson interrupted the interview.
āWe just got into Miami right now,ā Mobley said when Garland and Thompson appeared in the video feed.
āMan, we here. DPOY,ā they said during the interview as Mobley held back a smile.
Mobley played in 71 regular-season games, averaging 18.5 points with 9.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists as a main staple of the Cavsā rotation. Now, the Cavs are also up 2-0 in the first-round series against the Miami Heat, so things are looking up for Cleveland.
Mobley is coming off a strong Game 2 performance in which he had 20 points with six rebounds in 34 minutes, so he looks to continue his play after winning the first-ever Defensive Player of the Year award in the history of the franchise.
For now, the focus shifts back to the playoffs with Game 3 in Miami on Saturday night.
