The Cleveland Cavaliers have taken the league by surprise this season. They started out the campaign with 15 straight wins and currently own the best record in the league at 33-4. 

The Cavaliers’ blistering offense under new head coach Kenny Atkinson has been a major reason for their emergence. The team is averaging 122.9 points per game, second only to the Memphis Grizzlies’ 123.5, and a league-leading offensive rating of 121.5. Cleveland leads the league in team field goal percentage (50.5%), two-pointers (58.5%), and three-point shooting (40.5%) while also topping the NBA in effective field goal and true shooting percentage.

This outstanding start would not have been possible though if they were not excelling on both ends of the floor and this is where Evan Mobley comes in. Now in his fourth campaign, the 23-year-old forward has continued to mature into his role as the Cavaliers’ defensive backbone. He is averaging a career-high in steals (1.0) together with 1.4 blocks which is in-line with his career norm.

Though the 6’11 Mobley’s blocks average hardly jumps off the page, his rejections are especially impactful because he is a disciple of the lost art of keeping blocks in play. This allows Cleveland to immediately go the other way with a counterattack, a major reason why they are second in the league in points off turnovers this year at 20.6 per game. 

Mobley’s efforts on defense were recently recognized when he was named the NBA’s Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month for December.

The chances of Mobley winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year this season hinge primarily on the Cavaliers’ record as it will be difficult for him to contend with the San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama on statistics alone. The 20-year-old Wembanyama is averaging an astounding 3.9 blocks along with a steal per game this season. 

For Mobley to leapfrog Wembanyama in this race, Cleveland will have to put up a dominant regular season record with his defensive contributions at the forefront. 

Nonetheless, Mobley’s season is worth commending. Aside from his strong play on defense, he is also averaging a career-high 19.0 points per game, including 41.4% three-point shooting on 2.8 attempts per game. The best is yet to come for him, though he should already warrant NBA All-Star consideration this season.

The Cavaliers are secure with Mobley in tow as his versatility gives this team endless possibilities heading into the future. There have not been many players who can do the things that he does on the court–one that comes to mind is Kevin Garnett–and what’s frightening for the rest of the league is that he is still just scratching the surface of his full potential.