Evan Mobley is a Center Built for Today's NBA

No position on the basketball court has come under fire more the last decade than the center.

Today’s NBA is dominated by spacing and shooting, leaving old-school bigs who want to post up and work the shot clock a relic of the past.

But there isn’t one clear cut formula centers have to follow to have success in the league today.

The reigning MVP Nikola Jokic is a matchup nightmare for almost any team in the league.

Not only can he shoot, but he can distribute the basketball at an elite level, and mix it up in the paint when the matchup calls for it.

While Jokic is a generational talent, he exhibits the skillset expected of bigs in the modern NBA. They’ll have to be able to shoot the basketball and be athletic enough to hold their own in unfavorable matchups on the defensive end when they get switched.

Similarly, Deandre Ayton accomplishes similar goals but in a very different manner in Phoenix.

Emerging in the 2021 NBA Playoffs, Ayton is a dominant force on the boards and his ability to link up with Chris Paul has made them a nearly unstoppable force playing the pick and roll.

Athletic enough to survive on the perimeter, Ayton still dominates the paint and is an excellent rim protector on the defensive end, blending old school grit with his new school understanding of floor spacing and how to fit in the offense.

Teams at the top of the 2021 NBA Draft hope that USC’s Evan Mobley can follow in these footsteps.

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A good shooter, Mobley will be able to stretch the floor with his 7-foot-0 frame. But much like Jokic, he also has an impressive inside game when the situation calls for it.

Defensively, Mobley looks to be able to anchor a team as well.

Utilizing his 7-4 wingspan, Mobley showed the savvy ability to cut off passing angles at USC while also swatting away almost any visitor to his lane.

Taking a chance on a big man is like playing with fire at the top end of the draft, but Mobley has shown nothing so far that should give any teams pause about pulling the trigger on him.