The Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy for the NBA's best defender went to Evan Mobley.
He is the first Cleveland player to ever receive the honor. He is the fifth player at age 23 to win the league's Defensive Player of the Year award, following Alvin Robertson (1985/1986), Dwight Howard (2008/2009), Kawhi Leonard (2014/2015) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (2022/2023).
No player under the age of 23 has ever won the award, which has been awarded since the 1982/1983 season.
During the 2024–2025 regular season, Mobley ranked 6th in the NBA in blocked shots (1,59) and 13th in defensive rebounds per game (7). He averaged 10,4 blocked shots per game, which ranks him third among players who played in at least 58 of 82 games.
When Mobley was guarding, opponents shot just 44,5 percent from the field, 3,2 points below the expected 47,7 percent. That margin was fourth-lowest among the 30 players who have saved at least 1.000 shots in a season.
With him on the field, the club had a defensive rating of 108,6, which would rank them second in the league.
Mobley was named the Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month twice (in December and February) and was a first-time All-Star.
In 71 games, he averaged 18,5 points, 9,3 rebounds and 3,2 assists in 30,5 minutes. With his help, Cleveland (64-18) posted the second-best record in franchise history and took first place in the East.
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