Evan Mobley is a no-brainer for DPOY

Mobley has emerged as the favorite.

The NBA awards are largely narrative-driven. By this point in the season, those narratives have already been formed. The 2025 Defensive Player of the Year award is one exception. The media has been left searching for a new favorite with previous frontrunner Victor Wembayama suddenly dropping from the race due to a season-ending injury. The baton is now up for grabs — and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley is in the best position to sprint for it.

Mobley was drafted as a potential multi-time Defensive Player of the Year contender. He’s lived up to that promise, reaching All-Defensive First Team as a sophomore and finishing as a finalist for DPOY that same year. His path recently has seemed blocked by Wemby. But now, only Jaren Jackson Jr. stands in his way.

Jackson won the award in 2023 and stands as the only other contender in this year’s two-man race. Mobley and Jackson are the betting favorites by a good margin — with Mobley moving into first place after Cleveland’s recent win over the Grizzlies. That’s because that game provided all the information you need.

The Cavs pummeled Memphis on the glass for a season-high 22 offensive rebounds. Mobley was a bruiser, collecting 4 offensive boards to go with 25 points and 13 rebounds overall. His Cavaliers overcame a poor shooting night by scoring 48 points in the paint. Jackson Jr. could offer no resistance as he picked up more fouls (5) than rebounds (3).

Finding a way to differentiate between two of the best defenders in the world should require some digging. But for as great of a defender as Jackson is — Mobley clears him in very simple terms. Mobley provides all of the same rim protection with more versatile coverage and far more production on the glass. As the cherry on top, he does it all without fouling.

Mobley has 84 blocks to just 107 fouls this season. Meanwhile, Jackson has committed 198 fouls (most in the NBA) on 97 blocks. That’s more than 2 fouls for every block from Jackson.

Jackson’s 3.5 fouls per game put him in perpetual trouble. He’s fouled out of as many games this season as Mobley has in his entire career (four). Not being available to play in key moments has to be a major stain on Jackson’s bid for DPOY.

This isn’t the only area that gives Mobley the edge. He ranks in the 73rd percentile for defensive rebounding percentage while Jackson places in the 17th percentile. This means that 83% of Jackson’s peers are outrebounding him while only 27% are ahead of Mobley. Both are worse on the offensive glass — but even there, Mobley stands in the 49th percentile while Jackson is way below in the 13th.

Jackson’s raw counting stats made him the DPOY in 2023 when he led the league with 3.0 blocks per game. Those numbers are no longer so heavily in his favor with Jackson averaging 1.7 blocks to Mobley’s 1.6 blocks. Mobley has narrowed the gap and even surpassed Jackson in advanced analytics. He ranks in the 77th percentile for block percentage while Jackson is slightly behind him at 76th.

The one area that Jackson excels at is generating turnovers. He’s in the 86th percentile in steal percentage and racking up a career-high 1.3 steals per game. Even then, Jackson’s aggression on the ball is a likely reason he is constantly in foul trouble — and Mobley is only 0.5 steals per game behind him.

Any other way you cut it, this race is close. Mobley and Jackson post an almost identical impact on their team’s defensive metrics with both registering in the mid-90th percentiles for defensive on/off rating. Both of their teams hold opponents to roughly 2.5% worse shooting when they are on the floor. As I said, these are two of the best defenders on the planet.

Yet, Mobley offers the complete package with no discernible downsides. He protects the rim without allowing free throws — and he completes defensive possessions by securing rebounds. These aren’t cherry-picked stats. They are tangible factors that showed themselves in Cleveland’s win over the Grizzlies last week. Mobley dominated JJJ in that matchup and it should be the catalyst for winning his first DPOY.