The No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers took care of business at home in the first two games of their first-round playoff series against the No. 8 seed Miami Heat, jumping out to a 2-0 lead with two convincing wins at Rocket Arena.
The Cavaliers cruised through the 2024-25 regular season, notching a 64-18 record and securing the team’s first No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference since 2015-16.
Several Cleveland players contributed to the team’s success, including fourth-year power forward Evan Mobley. The first-time NBA All-Star finished the year averaging 18.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.6 blocks and 0.9 steals per game.
On Thursday, Mobley was announced as the NBA’s 2024-25 Defensive Player of the Year.
“The 2024-25 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year is… Evan Mobley!” the NBA wrote on X.
The 2024-25 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year is… Evan Mobley!#NBAAwards | #KiaDPOY | @Kia pic.twitter.com/Xmg1a9Wpk3
— NBA (@NBA) April 24, 2025
The Cavaliers reacted to this news with a post on social media. “YOUR 2024-25 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR, EVAN MOBLEY,” the team wrote on X.
https://twitter.com/cavs/status/1915535017733660815?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1915535017733660815%7Ctwgr%5E043dc18a3dba7b4af7d5aac9e60e403845d76d83%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fathlonsports.com%2Fnba%2Fcleveland-cavaliers%2Fcavaliers-react-to-nbas-evan-mobley-announcement
Mobley is the first Cavalier in franchise history to win Defensive Player of the Year.
We were all Kenny in this moment.
FIRST EVER DPOY IN CAVALIER IN HISTORY. #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/q8vbBMBlf4
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) April 24, 2025
“I feel like this year, how I’ve been playing, it definitely deserves Defensive Player of the Year,” Mobley said after winning the award. “… I just go out there and play my brand of basketball, try not to talk to much. Shout out to my guys for supporting me always. Defensive wins championships.”
YOUR 2024-25 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR!!! pic.twitter.com/LDtEOLRTST
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) April 24, 2025
“It was a big goal of mine coming into this year,” Mobley added when presented with the award on TNT “… I was focused on it most of the year. It just feels great to finally come and get this award.”
Mobley claimed this year’s Defensive Player of the Year award over fellow finalists Draymond Green and Dyson Daniels.
The Cavaliers will tipoff against the Heat in Game 3 on Saturday afternoon.
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