Evan Mobley is a winner.

Everywhere Mobley has played, the guy has left a trail of success. In his lone collegiate season at USC in 2020-2021, Mobley led the Trojans to their first NCAA Elite Eight appearance since 2001.

Mobley won gold medals with USA Basketball at the 2019 FIBA U-19 World Cup and 2018 FIBA U-17 World Cup. And it’s no coincidence that the Cavaliers haven’t had a losing season since they selected Mobley with the third overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft.

But as much as the Cavs cherish his “versatility, athleticism and physical gifts” – as Cavaliers GM Koby Altman said of Mobley on draft night – you could argue that his mindset is the X factor that makes him a truly special player.

Heading into the 2023-2024 season, the 6-11 power forward seemed poise to take another step in his development, and Mobley was averaging 16 points and 10 rebounds before the Cavs shut him down in early December.

On Dec. 16, Mobley underwent arthroscopic surgery at the Cleveland Clinic to repair his left knee.

Doctors gave him a recovery timetable of six to eight weeks. Mobley did everything in his power to make it six.

“He found a silver lining it, and I think that helped him recover more quickly,” Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff told reporters. “He didn’t use it as a moment to hang his head. It was interesting because he just went to the work and [focused on] how you get better.

“He was supposed to be on crutches for a certain amount of days but he didn’t want to do it, so he did what he had to do to get off the crutches early. Everything he did was extremely purposeful and with a positive attitude.”

The soft-spoken Mobley is my favorite kind of NBA player. He’s a quiet storm. He doesn’t say much on or off the court, but he doesn’t have to. His actions speak volumes.

Talking to reporters after the Cavs knocked off the L.A. Clippers on Jan. 29 – Mobley’s first action since Dec. 6 – the quiet storm didn’t offer much in the way of soundbites. Mobley said he viewed the layoff as a “benefit in disguise” – an opportunity to get better in every facet of his game.

“I was just trying to think about it in a positive way,” Mobley told reporters. “I took it as an opportunity, and I tried to get back as fast as possible and join the team.”

Mobley Will ‘Fit in Perfectly’

The Cavs were 15-7 without him, and had won nine of their last 10 games before Mobley rejoined the team against the Clippers. Still, it didn’t take long for Mobley to demonstrate how he’ll assimilate into the Cavs’ new-look, high-octane offense.

Mobley was active on both ends of the floor from the get-go. It only took him 26 seconds to get his first offensive rebound. Late in the first quarter, Mitchell found Mobley on a high-flying alley-oop dunk.

Then, with 8:21 left in the second, Mobley grabbed the rebound off a James Harden miss, galloped down the court and finished with an unassisted tomahawk jam that gave the Cavs a 36-35 lead.

“He’s going to fit in perfectly with what coach Bickerstaff has implemented in a wide-open offense,” Brad Daugherty said earlier in the Bally Sports telecast. “ … He’s in great shape, he’s ready – he’s going to be a huge addition to this basketball team.”

I couldn’t agree more.