Cavs' Evan Mobley, not Draymond Green, should be uncontested Defensive Player of the Year

03/27/2025 01:31 PM

Only four players in NBA history have won Defensive Player of the Year before turning 24. Cleveland Cavaliers Evan Mobley could become the fifth, joining elite company: Kawhi Leonard, Jaren Jackson Jr., Dwight Howard, and Alvin Robertson. But the narrative has suddenly shifted in a season where the Cavs superstar has dominated defensively from start to finish.

Draymond Green, a player who has already earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, has surged into the conversation recently, inexplicably overtaking Mobley in the odds. It's a shift that doesn't sit well in Cleveland, regardless of whether it’s in the locker room or the fanbase. Mobley has been the backbone of one of the NBA's best defenses, anchoring the Cavs on a nightly basis. The numbers and his impact all point in the same direction: Mobley is the rightful Defensive Player of the Year. Anything else would be an injustice.

The Cavs aren’t happy Draymond Green is stealing Evan Mobley’s spotlight

For most of the season, the Defensive Player of the Year race had a clear frontrunner: San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama. The sophomore phenom led multiple defensive leaderboards until a blood clot issue ended his season prematurely. With Wembanyama out, the award seemed destined for Mobley, until the narrative shifted.

Despite Mobley's dominant season, Golden State's Draymond Green has inexplicably surged up the odds, bumping Mobley from the top spot. The reason? It's not defense—it's storytelling. Green, a known media personality, has openly campaigned for the award. And in a league where perception sometimes outweighs reality, his push has gained traction, and some on the Cavs aren't happy about it stealing Mobley’s spotlight.

“Evan is Defensive Player of the Year. Should be a no-brainer," Darius Garland said. "You've seen it for however many games we are at right now. He's definitely the best defender in the league by far. Switching onto guards and bigs.

“I don't know how many blocks he's averaging, but it's up there. He's definitely the wrong person to get switched onto and go ISO on because it won't work. Contests. Steals. Blocks. Isolation defense. Defensive efficiency. On/off. There's no 7-footer that is doing that right now in this league.”

Mobley's defensive stats reinforce everything his teammates are saying. He ranks:

• Sixth in total blocks (97)

• Third in contested shots per game

• Top 20 in multiple advanced defensive metrics (Defensive Win Shares, Defensive Box Plus-Minus, Defensive Rating)

• Anchoring a top-10 defense—with him on the floor, Cleveland's defensive rating is 107.7 (second-best in the NBA). Without him, it plummets to 111.8.

Yet, despite all of this, he's fading in the DPOY race.

"It's kind of embarrassing, actually," Garland added. "He's gotten robbed out of a couple awards already. I don't want him to be robbed out of this one too. He's deserving of it. He's been doing it for three years now. He hasn't gotten an award yet. I think it's time the league gives him the recognition he deserves."

“He is the key for us defensively.”

With Mobley on the floor, Cleveland boasts the eighth-best defensive rating in the league, allowing 112.5 points per 100 possessions. The Cavs’ defense is even more suffocating when Mobley and Jarrett Allen share the floor, dropping to a stifling 109.6 rating, which ranks in the 89th percentile among all two-man lineups.

But Mobley's true value shines when he's alone on the court. Even without Allen beside him, Cleveland still posts an elite 110.9 defensive rating (82nd percentile). Meanwhile, when Allen plays without Mobley, the team's defense collapses, surrendering 114.4 points per 100 possessions (55th percentile).

Mobley has the best on/off defensive rating swing of anyone on the roster and ranks 10th among all forwards and bigs who have played at least 1,000 minutes. For comparison, Green ranks 29th and isn't even the best defensive player on his team.

Still, Mobley's impact can't be quantified by numbers alone. It’s why veteran big man Tristan Thompson has given him a new nickname, “DPOY.”

“He is the key for us defensively,” said Thompson about Mobley’s defensive ability. ” [He’s] able to guard 1-5. Alters shots. Blocks shots. In the passing lanes. Rule of verticality. Switches onto guards. He is able to do so much at that end of the court. Like I've always said, he is a young Anthony Davis. Ev is a nightmare defensively.”

That nightmare was on full display in a recent win over Portland. Mobley racked up four blocks, bringing his season total to 97 (sixth-most in the NBA). When the Blazers tried to rally in the fourth quarter, Mobley single-handedly shut them down. For six straight minutes, Portland failed to score a field goal. That defensive stand secured Cleveland's 58th win of the season.

"He's so talented," said Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson. "It's overwhelming. You see it in a game like that, especially against a younger team. He really turned it up tonight. Another Defensive Player of the Year performance in my mind."

Evan Mobley is letting his game and the Cavs’ defense speak for themselves

Mobley, for his part, isn't letting the noise get to him.

"All the guys believe in me, and I believe in myself," Mobley said. "I'm not going to change or do anything different. Just be myself. I feel like the numbers and the things that aren't necessarily tracked, I feel like I play a big part in those things. Some guys won't even take shots just because I'm down there.

"I'm going to keep going out there and playing the best defense I can, and hopefully I get the award."

And he should.

Mobley has been the best defender in the league all season long. The numbers support it. The eye test confirms it. His teammates swear by it. If voters reward anything other than sustained defensive dominance, they will have, as Tristan Thompson put it, "(expletive) it up."

Draymond Green has had his moment. It's Evan Mobley's time now.

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