Evan Mobley (born June 18, 2001) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...

and was selected third overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. With the first overall pick, the Detroit Pistons selected Cade Cunningham. The NB ...

Early life and high school career

Mobley, along with his older brother,

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "th ...

, began playing basketball from an early age under the guidance of their father, Eric, a former basketball player. Evan was initially reluctant to play basketball but became more interested in the sport in eighth grade, when he stood 6'4. Mobley began playing high school basketball as a freshman at Rancho Christian School in

Temecula, California Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a ...

. In his first three years, he was teammates with Isaiah, a five-star recruit in the 2019 class. As a junior at Rancho Christian, Mobley averaged 19.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 4.7 blocks per game. He was named California

Gatorade Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys' baseball, boys' and girls' basketball, boys' and girls' cross country, boys' football, boys' a ...

and ''

The Press-Enterprise ''The Press-Enterprise'' is a paid daily newspaper published by Digital First Media that serves the Inland Empire in Southern California. Headquartered in downtown Riverside, California, it is the primary newspaper for Riverside County, with ...

'' player of the year. In his senior season, Mobley averaged 20.5 points, 12.2 rebounds, 5.2 blocks, and 4.6 assists per game, leading Rancho Christian to a 22–8 record. He repeated as California Gatorade Player of the Year, joining

Jrue Holiday Jrue Randall Holiday (; born June 12, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins men's basketball, UCL ...

as the award's only two-time winners. Mobley was named Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year. He was also selected to play in the

McDonald's All-American Game The McDonald's All-American Game is the all-star basketball game played each year for American and Canadian boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the concl ...

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school All-Star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys in the senior class including alumns like Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, B ...

, and

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international men's basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, held once a year since 1995, except from 2001–2003, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of internationa ...

, but all three games were canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

Recruiting

Mobley was considered a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top three players in the 2020 recruiting class and at one point ahead of Cade Cunningham . On August 5, 2019, he committed to play college basketball for USC over offers from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, among other major

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

programs. Mobley became one of the highest-ranked players to join the program.

College career

In his college debut for USC on November 25, 2020, Mobley scored 21 points and had nine rebounds in a 95–87 overtime win against California Baptist. On March 11, 2021, at the Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals, he posted a career-high 26 points, nine rebounds and five blocks in a 91–85 double overtime victory over

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

. In a 72–70 semifinals loss to

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, Mobley scored 26 points for a second time, while recording nine rebounds and five blocks. As a freshman, he averaged 16.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.8 blocks and 2.4 assists per game. Mobley was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year,

Defensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY or DPOTY) is the name of an award given in sports for outstanding defensive play by a single player over the course of a season. Many sports leagues award this type of award. League awards for Defensive Player o ...

and Freshman of the Year. He became the second player from a major conference to win the trio of awards, joining

Anthony Davis Anthony Marshon Davis Jr. (born March 11, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays the power forward and center positions. Davis is an eight-time ...

of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

. On April 16, 2021, Mobley declared for the

, forgoing his remaining college eligibility. Mobley was seen by many as the second best prospect in the

behind Cade Cunningham.

Professional career

Cleveland Cavaliers (2021–present)

Mobley was selected third overall in the

by the

. On August 3, 2021, he signed with the Cavaliers. On August 8, 2021, Mobley made his summer league debut in a 84–76 loss against the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Divisio ...

where he posted 12 points, five rebounds, and three blocks in 28 minutes. On October 20, he made his NBA debut, putting up 17 points, nine rebounds, and six assists in a 132–121 loss to the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

. On November 15, Mobley suffered a sprained right elbow in a 98–92 loss to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of ...

. He was named the NBA Eastern Rookie of the Month for games played in October/November. On December 8, Mobley became the first Cleveland rookie since

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...

in March 2004 to record five blocks in an NBA game. Starting all the 69 games he played, Mobley finished the season averaging 15.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.7 blocks, and .8 steals per game, while shooting .508, .250, and .663 from the field, the three-point line, and on free throws, respectively, on 33.8 minutes per game. He led rookies in both rebounds and blocks per game, while ranking fifth for points per game. He was the second best rookie (behind Scottie Barnes of the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Atlantic Division (NBA) ...

) in win shares (5.2) and

value over replacement player In baseball, value over replacement player (or VORP) is a statistic popularized by Keith Woolner that demonstrates how much a hitter or pitcher contributes to their team in comparison to a replacement-level player who is an average fielder at th ...

(1.5). Alongside All-Star center Jarrett Allen, Mobley led Cleveland from a .306 winning percentage and the league's sixth-worst defense to a .537 winning percentage and the league's fifth best defense for efficiency. Of Mobley, fellow Cavalier Darius Garland told The Ringer's Rob Mahoney: "He does everything for us. Defensive-wise, offensive-wise. He's a 7-foot unicorn." Mobley finished as the runner-up to Scottie Barnes in voting for the

NBA Rookie of the Year The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Go ...

. The 15-point difference was the smallest voting margin in 19 years since the award's voting format began in 2002–03.

National team career

Mobley played for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

at the 2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

. In seven games, he averaged 9.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, helping his team win the gold medal. Mobley joined the

for the

2019 FIBA Under-19 World Cup The 2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup (Greek: Παγκόσμιο Κύπελλο Μπάσκετ FIBA Under-19 2019) was the 14th edition of the FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup, the biennial international men's youth basketball championshi ...

Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban ...

, Greece, but he was limited to playing two games and a total of seven minutes in the tournament due to back spasms. His team won the gold medal despite his absence.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

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College

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Personal life

Mobley's father Eric played college basketball for Cal Poly Pomona and

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

and played professionally in China, Indonesia, Mexico and Portugal. He later coached

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU) basketball for 11 years. In 2018, he was hired as assistant basketball coach for USC. Mobley's older brother

Isaiah Mobley Eric Isaiah Mobley (born September 24, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League. He playe ...

also played for USC. He entered the 2022 NBA Draft and was selected 49th overall to the Cavaliers, rejoining his brother. His mother, Nicol, is an

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

teacher. Mobley grew up with three foster siblings, including a Chinese

exchange Exchange may refer to: Physics * Gas exchange is the movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Places United States * Exchange, Indiana, an unincorporated community * ...

student named Johnny.

References

External links

USC Trojans bioUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mobley, Evan 2001 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from San Diego Centers (basketball) Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Cleveland Cavaliers players McDonald's High School All-Americans Power forwards (basketball) USC Trojans men's basketball players