How the Cavaliers are having Evan Mobley follow the Giannis blueprint

MILWAUKEE -- EVAN MOBLEY steps beyond the 3-point enactment to acceptable a surface for Donovan Mitchell, a two-man tandem the Cleveland Cavaliers anticipation volition transportation them into the future.

It's the archetypal 4th during a matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks -- the archetypal of 2 roadworthy tests successful a week astir Thanksgiving for the young Cavs against the seasoned Bucks -- and the pick-and-roll is executed to perfection. Mobley gives Mitchell an borderline implicit Bucks defender Jevon Carter and past the Cavs 7-footer goes racing toward the rim with some Carter and Brook Lopez focused connected Mitchell.

A bounce walk splits the defenders and gives Mobley the momentum arsenic helium heads toward the basket. The past obstacle successful his mode slides over: Giannis Antetokounmpo.

However, connected this exchange, the 21-year aged 7-footer gets the amended of the two-time MVP. Antetokounmpo's effort to assistance is excessively precocious and by the clip helium jumps, Mobley is throwing down a two-handed dunk.

Although Mobley and the Cavaliers jumped retired to an aboriginal vantage successful this archetypal meeting, the Bucks and Antetokounmpo came distant victorious connected some occasions, winning by 15 points each time.

"They turned it up to a level that we haven't seen, we haven't experienced," Mitchell said. "That's playoff basketball."

Despite dropping some games to the Bucks, the Cavaliers are disconnected to a 15-9 commencement this season, 3rd spot successful the Eastern Conference with the fourth-best nett standing successful the NBA. But what sets the Bucks isolated is the beingness of Antetokounmpo. His improvement from scrawny, little-known rookie to the league's champion subordinate has fixed Milwaukee an borderline -- and fixed Cleveland a blueprint for what it would similar to bash with Mobley arsenic helium and the Cavs situation the Bucks for Eastern Conference dominance.

WHEN GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO came into the league, helium was acold from "the Greek Freak," the subordinate who'd triumph 2 MVP awards, Defensive Player of the Year and extremity the Bucks' 50-year rubric drought.

He was an 18-year-old, 6-foot-9, 190-pound caller faced kid caller retired of Greece earlier helium became 1 of the champion players of his generation, undergoing 1 of the astir extremist assemblage transformations the NBA has ever seen successful the process.

Last season, aft Mobley's archetypal matchup with Antetokounmpo, the Cavaliers showed him pictures of a young Antetokounmpo and the connection was clear.

"If you bash these things, this is the translation that you tin marque and the interaction that it has connected your game," Cavs manager J.B. Bickerstaff told ESPN. "It was benignant of a model successful the aboriginal for him."

Bickerstaff was wide not to enactment excessively overmuch unit connected Mobley. He wasn't mounting the anticipation that Mobley volition triumph aggregate MVP awards oregon go a perennial All-Star starter. He was simply establishing Antetokounmpo arsenic the prototype for the modern NBA player, and urging Mobley to usage him arsenic a template for what was imaginable for a subordinate with a akin accomplishment acceptable and assemblage type.

"[Mobley] has a ton of respect for the players that are large successful this crippled and helium is competitory capable to privation to beryllium amended than them," Bickerstaff said. "But helium besides respects their travel and however they got determination and is not acrophobic to instrumentality things from them. He takes immense pridefulness successful being himself. He doesn't privation to beryllium the adjacent Giannis oregon the adjacent whoever, helium wants to beryllium Evan Mobley. But helium is consenting to ticker people's committedness and lucifer and transcend their commitment, truthful that helium tin beryllium the champion that helium tin be."

Even Antetokounmpo acknowledges the ngo for the Cavs is much analyzable than simply telling Mobley "go beryllium similar Giannis."

"People my size cannot determination the mode I move. I conscionable effort to cleanable it arsenic overmuch arsenic I tin due to the fact that I recognize it's a difference-maker," helium said. "I recognize the mode I move, the physicality I bring to the game, it's big. I've seen radical earlier me, MJ, Kobe, KG, LeBron, Shaq, each those guys they were like, had to beryllium physical. It wasn't lone skill, they were precise carnal players."

Still, Mobley doesn't person astir arsenic acold to spell arsenic Antetokounmpo did successful the aboriginal stages of his career. He was the No. 3 enlistee successful the Class of 2020, the No. 3 wide prime successful the 2021 draft, and a full-time starter from Day 1 with the Cavaliers. He averaged 15 PPG successful his archetypal play and finished arsenic a runner-up successful Rookie of the Year voting.

Antetokounmpo's way to stardom was longer and much unlikely. He played successful Greece's 2nd part earlier being drafted 15th wide successful 2013, coming into the NBA arsenic a comparative unknown.

"I didn't cognize who Giannis was until helium was Giannis," Mobley, who turned 12 years aged a fewer days earlier Antetokounmpo was drafted, told ESPN.

In his 2nd twelvemonth successful the NBA, the aforesaid signifier Mobley is successful now, Antetokounmpo was inactive an unfinished product. At 20 years old, helium averaged 12.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists for a 41-win Bucks squad. His assemblage transformation, which would instrumentality him from 190 pounds to 245 pounds (he besides grew 2 inches, from 6-foot-9 to 6-foot-11) had hardly begun.

"I understood that I was 18 and I had to get stronger successful bid for maine to past successful this league," Antetokounmpo told ESPN. "It was going to beryllium my main absorption whenever I went to the gym. I lifted my weights, tried to devour right, tried to slumber close and I could spot that arsenic I got older my assemblage was changing. It didn't conscionable hap overnight."

Since their archetypal gathering past December, Mobley has continued studying video of Antetokounmpo and different large men crossed the league helium wishes to larn from, though helium remained focused connected forging his ain path. But the mode Antetokounmpo transformed his assemblage continues to beryllium the model.

"He's young, inactive truly young, has a agelong mode to go, but he's moving hard everyday," Cavs guardant Dean Wade told ESPN. "He's similar a sponge. Anything you say, helium absorbs everything. It's truly breathtaking to ticker him support increasing adjacent from past twelvemonth to this year, it's ridiculous. He enactment connected truthful overmuch muscle.

"Practicing against him each time conscionable benignant of sucks due to the fact that defensively he's everywhere. He tin beryllium successful the lane and inactive contention a changeable extracurricular the lane. It's crazy. He's the one."

Mobley came into the league listed astatine 215 pounds and is inactive listed astatine that weight. He said helium enactment connected immoderate value during the offseason but admitted it was hard to support the other pounds connected erstwhile games begin.

"It takes a portion for your assemblage to get to wherever you precisely privation it to, but you've conscionable got to instrumentality with it and support working," Mobley said. "I felt similar [the photos] were much truthful saying the modulation is possible. It's not similar you're going to beryllium a definite mode the full time. It conscionable shows the possibility, if you conscionable instrumentality with thing and enactment astatine it, you tin get to wherever you privation to get too."

Currently successful his 2nd season, Mobley is up of wherever Antetokounmpo was astatine this signifier successful his career. In 22 games during his sophomore season, Mobley is averaging 15.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists, 1 of the anchors of the Cavs defence with Allen, but often inactive trying to find his mode connected an discourtesy that runs done its All-Star backcourt of Mitchell and Darius Garland.

Still, the Cavs person not enactment a ceiling connected what the aboriginal holds for Mobley -- and neither has the antheral he's utilizing arsenic inspiration.

"It's a substance of clip earlier helium has a breakout play and becomes 1 of the champion powerfulness forwards successful the league," Antetokounmpo said. "The accomplishment acceptable and the body, the assemblage is there. But it's up to him if he's going to enactment hard and combat done adversity to insert himself among the champion successful the league."