Evan Mobley was one of the most talked-about players in the NBA during the 2024-2025 season. The 24-year-old averaged 18 PPG for the year, along with 9 RPG, but his biggest contribution was on the defensive side. The Cavaliers’ star wasn’t just an efficient defender; he was actively creating issues for opposing offenses, which earned him the DPOY award. Now his head coach, Kenny Atkinson, thinks he can aim even bigger.
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Atkinson spoke about Mobley during an interview with ESPN during the Summer League in Las Vegas. The 58-year-old felt pretty ecstatic about his power forward, but later claimed that in a couple of years, he was going to be mentioned in the Most Valuable Player race
“I don’t want to put added pressure on him, but the truth is in these next 2-3 years he’s going to be in the MVP conversation,” he stated. “Talent-wise, I don’t see why not. I’m not trying to oversell him or put pressure on him, but I was just out with him two days in LA watching him work out. He’s kind of got everything.”
That is quite a bold claim, and we are all here for it. In a heavy offensive league, watching someone actually guard the perimeter as well as Mobley did created some exciting basketball. But Atkinson knows that it’s not all on Mobley to get better. He and the other players have a role in that growth as well.
“It’s going to be on us as coaches to empower him even more. On Donovan, and Darius, and those guys to empower him more. He’s gotten stronger already since the season ended, and you can just see when a guy starts to figure it out,” said the one-time NBA Champion.
Atkinson then specified how Mobley has already started putting it together on his own. “He’s figuring out his routine. He’s figuring out his diet. He’s figuring out all the stuff. He’s figuring out the weights, the strength and conditioning stuff.”
He added, “You combine that with talent and the human being he is and the character he is, and by the way, Defensive Player of the Year, why shouldn’t this guy put himself in the conversation to be an MVP in this league eventually?”
And it’s a legitimate question to ask. In an evolving league that is so often built around playmaking, having someone who can create possessions on the defensive side is what creates champions. There’s a reason that the Cavs were the No. 1-ranked team in the East by the end of the 24-25 season. They hit some bad luck in the postseason against the Pacers, but so did the Knicks and Bucks.
With a healthy Donovan Mitchell and a confident Evan Mobley at the helm, Cleveland could be looking at back-to-back years as the No. 1 seed. And since the Pacers’ magical run has since turned into a nightmare, along with the Celtics revamping their whole squad, the East will be in need of a new king. Perhaps Atkinson and Mobley can show them why it deserves to be the Cavs.
