Cavs’ Evan Mobley wins Defensive Player of the Year award
Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley was officially named as this year’s NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year.
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Mobley wins Defensive Player of the Year
The forward beat out the Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green and the Atlanta Hawks’ Dyson Daniels to earn his first defensive honor.
Mobley averaged 18.5 points per game, but it was his defensive presence that played a major role in Cleveland’s success this season.
He recorded 9.3 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, and 0.9 steals per game.
Most importantly, he helped lead the Cavs to a 64-18 regular season and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
“It feels great,” Mobley said of winning the award on TNT’s “Inside The NBA” Thursday night.
“My feet and my movement at this size I feel like unordinary but it just feels amazing to finally get this award.”
Huge payday
By earning that honor, Mobley also secured a boost of roughly $45 million to the max rookie contract extension he signed last summer, turning it into a five-year, $269 million deal.
“I mean, it definitely was a goal of mine coming into this year, I put all the work in, so it’s a big day,” Mobley said.
“But I’m trying to be as focused as I can on the playoffs.”
Mobley received 35 first-place votes and 30 second-place votes, finishing with 285 total points — ahead of Daniels (197 points) and Green (154 points).
Meanwhile, Cleveland has taken a 2-0 series lead over the Miami Heat to open the playoffs.
