Former All-Star Believes Cavaliers' Evan Mobley Has Hit His Ceiling

As the Cleveland Cavaliers eye some big expectations heading into the 2025-26 NBA season, a ton of focus and pressure lies upon what's in store for Evan Mobley, who comes off a Defensive Player of the Year campaign and one of the better frontcourt talents in the entire league.

For Mobley, while he has become one of the better big men in the league since his previously strong campaign, many are still waiting on the next jump in the 2021 third-overall pick's game. Rather than being a sole defensive anchor and versatile piece on that end of the floor, the expectations have now jumped to wanting to see Mobley become a near-MVP-level talent.

But in the eyes of former NBA All-Star Jeff Teague, he doesn't quite see such a steep outcome being in the cards for Mobley.

During a recent appearance on The Club 520 podcast, Teague dove into a few interesting thoughts surrounding the Cavaliers' big man, claiming this version of Mobley might be the best we ever see him.

“That’s probably the best he going to get,” Teague said of Mobley. “I think that’s probably the best we're going to see of Evan Mobley. He probably becomes a better shooter, but his body type— he don’t have a Giannis [Antetokounmpo] build. The only step he could take is like Giannis. He can come that physically imposing to just run people over and go dunk. But his aggressiveness and the way he play just doesn’t mirror Giannis. He don’t move as fluid as Giannis.”

Physically, he has some unmatched tools to have such a premier ceiling, and with his defensive efforts from last season, it was enough to even find his way to his first-ever All-NBA selection, navigating to All-NBA third team after his best year yet, perhaps being a sign of what's to come for this season and further.

But for Teague, those signs to be a dominant two-way force to go from DPOY to MVP aren't quite in the picture.

It takes a special, borderline unmatched talent to reach the levels of a Giannis Antetokounmpo or similar, and even while Mobley found his way to some league-best hardware in the form of last year's Defensive Player of the Year award, it's that offensive versatility and aggression that could limit the Cavaliers' big man from reaching that caliber.

May 9, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) during game three of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Last season, Mobley played in 71 games to average 18.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists on 55.7% from the field and 37.0% from three. With those numbers, he's proven to be an efficient, effective scorer in his current role, but the bar has now been raised an extra level for what will be his fifth year in the mix with Cleveland.

This next season might just be the biggest of Mobley's career when factoring in both the Cavaliers' championship aspirations, as well as getting another chance to prove himself as more than just a defensive centerpiece, but an MVP-quality centerpiece as well. Time will tell if he can meet the mark.

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