Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell win NBA Skills Challenge
The Cleveland Cavaliers will be leaving the season with one trophy. Well, at least Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley will as they won the Kia NBA Skills Challenge on Saturday night. This is the second time Mobley has been a part of a winning Skills Challenge team as the Cavs with the trio of Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland won the challenge in 2021.
This year, the Skills Challenge format was a two-man competition comprised of four teams. Both players from the team went through an obstacle course that required them to hit a corner three over a windmill, make a free throw, and make passes to a target.
Mobley and Mitchell started out slow in their first round. Mobley missed more than a few shots and Mitchell fumbled the ball while trying to get it up the court. Still, it was enough to beat out two teams and advance to the finals. They were benefited from a truly horrific performance from rookies Alex Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher and from a disqualification.
The San Antonio Spurs team of Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama were eliminated after not attempting to take a shot from the shooting racks. Instead, they just quickly tossed the ball toward the basket.
The Cavs faced the Golden State Warriors in the final round. Mobley and Mitchell were considerably better the second time around. They shaved 17 seconds off their time from the first round.
The Warriors had a chance to better the Cavs, but couldn’t do it. Moses Moody had a strong showing. However, Draymond Green couldn’t continue that pace. A few missed passes and shots from Green did them in.
How much the Skills Challenge represents actually basketball skills is certainly up for debate. Still, it’s nice to see the Cavs come away with a win.
The Cavaliers will have three players and their coaching staff participating in the All-Star Game on Sunday.