OKC Thunder NBA Draft prospect profile: The gifted big man – Evan Mobley

Evan Mobley strengths and weaknesses

Strengths:

With the rise of big men in the 2021 playoffs the value of Evan Mobley can’t be undermined. A look at Deandre Ayton in particular with how he is holding his own versus the floor spacing bigs of the association adds further credence for why Mobley fits the current era.

Although he only shoots 30 percent from the perimeter that is an aspect of his game a good development system could help improve.  But I’m jumping ahead of all the things Mobley excels at and why he is by far the best big in the 2021 class.

He plays power forward but eventually could also play center, and I won’t say in a small-ball lineup because hello — he’s 7′.

Again, I’ll point you to former OKC Thunder guard Chris Paul and highlight how he’s accelerated Ayton’s effectiveness and then point out Mobley could end up playing with John Wall in Houston (unlikely) or Kyle Lowry in Toronto (if he re-signs). Either of these scenarios could find Mobley bursting onto the scene in his first year as he becomes a pick-and-roll beast.

His offense is versatile with the ability to score inside or in the mid-range. His passing ability is above average for a young big and would compliment a heavy ball movement system. Unlike many bigs of his age, he can already create his own shot. Mobley has equal dexterity scoring with either hand, can score via pick and pop, or hook shots. He has a high I.Q. with the ability to quickly figure out whether he’ll attack the rim, shoot or pass to an open teammate.

Likewise, his defensive ability is also well developed for his age and has the added benefit of being able to defend the pick and roll which typically takes young bigs a few years to figure out. Despite his size, his lateral movement is well above par. Another quality to love about Mobley is he doesn’t get lured into stupid fouls which is something most young bigs take time to figure out.

Add that all up and there is reason to believe the forward could eventually be All-Defense. He’ll need to add size to face the bruising big men but otherwise, he’s a rare commodity in this ear of big men.

Weaknesses:

There isn’t much not to like about Mobley especially given the fact at 20 he’s already demonstrating an above-average defensive ability to defend from rim to perimeter.

That said, he’s got some work to do to develop his game to fit into the new era of bigs who stretch the floor. He shoots 69.4 percent from the charity stripe which isn’t great and that typically denotes an inability to shoot well from the perimeter (he shot 30 percent this year).

But his shot is fluid and his skill set and I.Q. are advanced so in the right development system he has the potential to grow in this area.

While his decision-making is strong he has a tendency (rarely) to over-dribble leading to turnovers. Therefore he’ll need to work on sharpening his handle and if he ends up on a team with a strong identity and development system there’s no reason to believe he can’t improve in this area.

As noted, although 7′ he’ll need to add size in order to defend the bigger power forwards and centers. Conversely, his quickness will cause those bigs issues in having to defend him.