Donovan Mitchell broadcasts Evan Mobley DPOY candidature after 82 game NBA season ends

Donovan Mitchell rallies Cleveland Cavaliers reporter to vote in Evan Mobley as his Defensive Player of the Year pick.

Donovan Mitchell broadcasts Evan Mobley DPOY candidature after 82 game NBA season ends

Evan Mobley

The race for nearly every major NBA award this season has been really close. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic are battling for MVP honors with historic stats. Most Improved Player honors will be contested between Cade Cunningham and Ivica Zubac. Dyson Daniels and Evan Mobley are prime Defensive Player of the Year contenders. Donovan Mitchell is lobbying for his Cavaliers teammate to win.

Evan Mobley undoubtedly has a stellar DPOY case to stake. The Cavaliers forward is one of the most switchable players at the 4 position, able to guard many true 1s as well as 5s. He can also play the 5 position when Jarrett Allen sits, able to patrol the paint and hold even dominant opponents like Giannis Antetokounmpo off. Mobley has been a two-time winner of the Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month this year, just like his fellow DPOY contender Dyson Daniels from the Atlanta Hawks.

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Cavs reporter Chris Fedor tweeted about his difficulty in singling out a standout winner for this year’s DPOY honors. According to him, there are at least five players worthy of a first-place vote for the Hakeem Olajuwon DPOY trophy. However, Donovan Mitchell is not interested in hearing out the case for anyone else. For him, the clear winner is his teammate Mobley, and he made no bones of it in his latest tweet.

Chris you know damn well it’s Evan Mobley’s award

Donovan Mitchell quote-tweeted Fedor’s sentiments about being in a dilemma

The Defensive Player of the Year was Victor Wembanyama’s to lose for the majority of the season. Unfortunately for the Frenchman, he was ruled out for the season with blood clots before he could cross the 65-game threshold for awards eligibility. The Spurs’ sensational All-Star finished the season with the highest blocks total despite only playing 46 games. In his absence, a number of candidates have staked strong claims.

It has been very tough to clearly separate the candidatures of Mobley and Daniels over the home stretch of the 2024-25 NBA season. Daniels is likely to smash the steals record for any player in the 21st century. However, team and individual defensive metrics favor Mobley given his impact for the Cavs’ top-10 defense.

Evan Mobley has to be a worthy second option to Donovan Mitchell

The Cleveland Cavaliers, despite having virtually the same core for three seasons, haven’t broken through in the playoffs because of the lack of supporting offense around Spida. Mitchell was also injured for most of their series against the Celtics last year, putting a nail in their playoff hopes coffin. The Cavaliers are much better-equipped this year on that end, with Darius Garland seemingly elevating his game to a new level.

However, it will be up to Evan Mobley to be a dominant scorer and likely the second option in quite a few matchups. Mobley has improved his shooting from range and his scoring toolkit from closer to the bucket. His wingspan, ability to tip shots in and offensive rebounding will all be crucial factors for the Cavaliers’ postseason hopes.

The Cavaliers are built immaculately to make a deep postseason run. Their 64-18 record is no fluke -their offense has improved massively under new head coach Kenny Atkinson. Atkinson will himself be up for Coach of the Year honors. Mitchell is no. 7 in NBA history in points per game during the playoffs, while Garland, Allen and Mobley have all got All-Star skillsets. Not winning the Eastern Conference will be seen as a failure by the roster at this point.