Cleveland Cavaliers Forward Deemed Team’s Long-Term X-Factor

In terms of season results, the Cleveland Cavaliers have shown steady progression over the past three campaigns.

After reaching the NBA Play-In Tournament in 2022, the Wine and Gold made it to the first round of the NBA Playoffs the following year, and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals this past season.

While Cleveland hired a new head coach in Kenny Atkinson this offseason, the team’s foundation remains the same. The Cavaliers secured contract extensions with four players, three of whom have been mainstay starters for multiple seasons.

With the 2024-25 season on its way next month, Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes recently published a list of every NBA team’s biggest X-factor for the long-term future. His pick for Cleveland was forward Evan Mobley, one of the team’s starters who signed a contract extension this offseason.

Hughes explains how Mobley, a premier defender, has developed offensively during his first three seasons, increasing his assists per game total each year and becoming a better true shooter.

This past season, he averaged career-highs in rebounds (9.4), defensive rebounds (7.1), assists (3.2), and three-pointers per game (0.4). He also shot career-bests from the field (58.0%), two-point range (60.4%), three-point range (37.3%), and the free-throw line (71.9%), albeit in 50 contests.

However, Hughes believes that the Cavaliers big man could potentially become an NBA All-Star and give his team increased chances at another title only if he becomes a stronger scorer. The seven-footer has averaged 15.6 points per game over his first three NBA seasons, topping out at 16.2 in 2022-23.

At just 23 years old, Mobley’s best basketball is likely ahead of him. Like the team has recently improved year-to-year, Cleveland fans will look for Mobley to grow individually this season as well.