Evan Mobley, from the Cavaliers, elected defensive player of the year
Evan Mobley, the first Cavalier to win this award, has focused the entire season with Cleveland, averaging 18.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.9 robberies and 1.6 caps for the team.
Evan Mobley was a great winner in more than one meaning Thursday night.
To start, the fourth year eave was appointed Defensive player of the NBA yearafter making a significant individual leap this season as part of the promotion of the Cleveland Cavaliers to the top of the Eastern Conference.
But, when winning that honor, Mobley-who is also expected to be selected All-NBA in the coming weeks-also assured that the maximum extension of his rookie contract, which he signed last summer, will increase approximately 45 million dollars over the next five years, making it a five-year agreement for 269 million dollars.
“It was definitely a goal of mine at the beginning of this year; I struggled to the fullest, so it’s a great day,” Mobley said after Wednesday’s victory over the Miami Heat in the second game of the Cleveland First Round series. “But I am trying to be as concentrated as possible in the playoffs.”
Mobley, the first Cavalier to win this award, has focused the entire season with Cleveland, averaging 18.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.9 robberies and 1.6 cavaliers caps, helping Cleveland to be the absolute leader of the east. In addition, Mobley’s impressive variety of defensive skills, especially as a support defender, continued to drive a team of the Cavaliers who hopes to aspire to the championship for the first time since LeBron James took them to four consecutive NBA finals between 2015 and 2018.
“It feels great,” Mobley said about winning the prize “Inside The NBA” of TNT on Thursday night. “My feet and my movement with this size make me feel extraordinary, but it is simply incredible to finally receive this award.”
He was able to celebrate the victory with his teammates, since the Cavaliers had just arrived in Miami before the third game of the series.
Mobley was one of the three finalists to the award, along with the base of the Atlanta Hawks, Dyson Daniels, and the eaves of the Golden State Warriors, Draymond Green. Mobley obtained 35 of 100 votes for first place, 30 for the second and 20 for third place, adding a total of 285 points and 85 of 100 votes. Daniels was in second place with 25 votes for first place, 17 for the second and 21 for third place, while Green was in third place with 15 votes for first place, 20 for the second and 19 for third place.
The award for the defensive player of the Year was one of the most disputed races of the season, at least from the All-Star Break, after the great favorite to win the honor, the eave of the San Antonio Spurs, Victor Wembanyama, was discarded for the season by a diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis in the shoulder.
From that moment on, several players were outlined as possible award candidates, including the three finalists: the clippers pivot, Ivica Zubac; the base of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Luguentz Dort; and the base of the Houston Rockets, Amen Thompson. This was noticed in the development of the vote, with seven players obtaining at least one vote for first position and 13 receiving at least one vote in total.
After Mobley, Daniels and Green, they stood: Dort, Thompson, Zubac; the eaves of the Memphis Grizzlies, Jaren Jackson Jr.; the eaves of the Milwaukee Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo; the base of the Portland Trail Blazers, Toumani Camara; the pivot of the Miami Heat, Bam Adebayo; the base of the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander; the base of the Boston Celtics, Derrick White; and the pivot of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Rudy Gobert, who won the prize last year.
The award for the defensive player of the Year was the third of the seven most important individual awards in the League. The Celtics escort, Payton Pritchard, won the sixth man award of the year on Tuesday night, and the New York Knicks escort, Jalen Brunson, was appointed key player of the year on Wednesday night.
The NBA will also announce the winner of the Hustle award on Friday, while the rest of the main awards (more valuable player, player with the greatest progress, coach of the year, rookie of the year and the teams All-NBA, All-Defense and All-Rookie) will be announced in the coming weeks.
