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Tim Bontemps
Evan Mobley was a big winner in more ways than one Thursday night.
For starters, the fourth-year forward was named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, after taking a significant individual leap this season as part of the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ ascension to the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
But, by winning that honor, Mobley — who also is expected to be an All-NBA selection sometime over the next couple of weeks — also ensured that the max rookie contract extension he signed last summer will go up by roughly $45 million over the next five years, turning it into a five-year, $269 million pact.
“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 after Wednesday night’s victory over the Miami Heat in Game 2 of Cleveland’s first-round series. “But I’m trying to be as focused as I can on the playoffs.”
Mobley, the first Cavalier to win this award, has been focused all season for Cleveland, averaging 18.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.6 blocks for the Cavaliers in helping Cleveland be the wire-to-wire leaders of the East. In addition, Mobley’s impressive array of defensive skills, particularly as a help defender, continued to push forward a Cavaliers team that hopes to return to true championship aspirations for the first time since LeBron James led them to four straight NBA Finals from 2015 to 2018.
“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.”
He was able to celebrate with his teammates upon winning the award, as the Cavaliers had just arrived in Miami ahead of Game 3 of the series.
Mobley was one of three finalists for the award, alongside Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green. Mobley finished with 35 of 100 first-place votes, along with 30 second-place votes and 20 third-place votes, for 285 total points and finishing on 85 out of 100 ballots. Daniels was second with 25 first-place, 17 second-place and 21 third-place votes, while Green was third with 15 first-place, 20 second-place and 19 third-place votes.
Defensive Player of the Year was one of the most wide-open awards races this season — at least, that is, from the All-Star Break onward, after the massive favorite to claim the honor, San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, was ruled out for the season with a diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis in his shoulder.
From that point, several players were seen as potential contenders for the award, including the three finalists, LA Clippers center Ivica Zubac, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort and Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson. That was felt in the way the voting played out, with seven players getting at least one first-place vote and 13 receiving at least one vote overall.
Behind Mobley, Daniels and Green were the following: Dort, Thompson, Zubac, Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr., Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Portland Trail Blazers guard Toumani Camara, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Boston Celtics guard Derrick White and Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, who won the award last year.
Defensive Player of the Year was the third of the league’s seven major individual awards to be handed out, with Celtics guard Payton Pritchard winning the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award Tuesday night and New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson being named the league’s Clutch Player of the Year on Wednesday night.
The NBA will also announce the Hustle Award winner Friday, while the rest of the major honors — Most Valuable Player, Most Improved Player, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year and the All-NBA, All-Defense and All-Rookie teams — will be announced over the next few weeks.
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