Trio Of Cleveland Cavaliers Gaining MVP Consideration

Cleveland Cavaliers superstars Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Evan Mobley are all in the MVP conversation.

Jan 8, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) and guard Darius Garland (10) celebrate after Mitchell made a three point basket during the second half against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers are past the narrative that they are just having a historic start to the season. They're simply championship contenders this season, and their recent stretch of games is a big indicator of that.

Typically, when a team is considered a Finals favorite, it has an MVP frontrunner on its roster, or it is clear who its best player is. That's not quite the case with the Cavaliers, who play a team-oriented brand of basketball.

Dan Favale of Bleacher Report recently released his updated MVP leaderboard, and the Cavaliers have three players in the conversation: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, and Evan Mobley.

B/R had Garland and Mitchell tied with New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson for 10th in their ranking.

Favale wrote, "Distinguishing between Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell is getting tougher. Both headline a Cleveland Cavaliers squad that might crack 70 wins."

DG and Spida have complimented each other's games perfectly this season. As Favale also points out, "Mitchell is the more leaned-upon scorer. Garland is the higher-volume playmaking engine. Both can captain the offense as scorers or table-setters. Garland shoulders harder defensive assignments. Mitchell faces tougher defensive assignments."

Mitchell has been a player listed in the NBA.com's MVP ladder all season, but it's nice to finally see Garaldn receiving the recognition for the All-Star level season he's putting together this year.

Jan 3, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) dribbles during the first half against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

As for the other member of the Cavaliers, Favale has been incredibly impressed with Mobley's level of play this season, and he has been ranked number nine on his MVP leaderboard.

"Mobley remains front and center in the Defensive Player of the Year discourse. And he's expanded his offensive armory and impact enough to be considered a primary catalyst for the Cleveland Cavaliers' success," he wrote.

It's incredible to think that during the offseason, there were calls that the Cavaliers needed to break up their core four, and now, three of them are considered some of the best players in the NBA.

This doesn't even include Jarrett Allen, who looked like Cleveland's best player in their win against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Cavaliers really have something special brewing this season, and B/R's latest MVP leaderboard is another example of this.