Cavs select Evan Mobley with No. 3 pick
With the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers have selected USC center Evan Mobley.
Mobley is widely regarded as the best big man available for selection this year. The 20-year-old is a remarkable two-way talent with high upside. A consensus five-star recruit coming out of high school, he committed to joining the Trojans for the 2020-21 campaign, setting him on course to play alongside his older brother, Isaiah.
Mobley was named the Pac 12's Player of the Year in his only collegiate season and also won the conference's Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards, plus a spot on the All-Pac-12 first team.
He put up 16.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.9 blocks, and 2.4 assists per game and led the Trojans to an Elite Eight appearance at the NCAA Tournament, the program's best finish in two decades.
Bio
Position: C
School: USC
College experience: Freshman
Height: 7-feet
Weight: 210 lbs
Wingspan: 7-foot-4
Max vertical: N/A
Strengths
- Fantastic rim-protector: he led the Pac-12 with 2.9 blocks per game.
- Impressively mobile for a big man; flashes some of the best defensive potential in the draft thanks to his quickness combined with his wingspan and timing.
- Consistent alley-oop threat, especially off the pick-and-roll.
- Can put the ball on the floor at times, opening up another playmaking outlet.
- Keeps defenses honest with a respectable mid-range jumper.
Weaknesses
- May get outmuscled inside by NBA bigs thanks to a skinny frame.
- Hasn't stretched his shot to the 3-point line.
- Inside post game yet to fully develop.