The Cleveland Cavaliers have picked talented center Evan Mobley in the draft. While people are favouring either Jalen Green or Cade Cunningham to win the Rookie of the Year, Mobley may surprise a lot of people. His size and his capabilities are often compared with top forwards and centers. People have earlier drawn comparisons with LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo but only time will tell where Mobley reaches in his first year at the NBA.
Many experts believe that Mobley needs to add more muscle to be as dominant as Kevin Durant or Giannis Antetokounmpo. Recently former NBA champion Richard Jefferson also reiterated the same thing where he told the young center to follow LeBron James.
He said, “If you look at guys like Giannis, you look at guys like Bron, guys that have added good muscles. Not about adding size or getting bigger, it’s just about adding strength.”
Further, Jefferson added, “Like even Kevin Durant, as skinny as he is, has gotten stronger since he’s been in the league. He hasn’t necessarily added size. But he’s gotten – like well, he’s probably added a little bit.
“But it’s just the strength that you add. You don’t have to necessarily get bigger. Giannis got bigger but like you could tell like every pound that Giannis gained was pure muscle you know. So, it’s like people make it seem like Giannis didn’t get bigger that dude just literally got stronger throughout his frame,” Jefferson further added.
Jefferson wants Mobely to build more strength rather than gaining body mass. The former NBA champion highlights how Mobley will need to dominate in the paint and for that one needs to be physically strong. The youngster will mostly be up against guys double his size so strength is a key factor for the Cavs draft pick. Players like Jonas Valaciunas and Steven Adams are way stronger than Mobley and the youngster needs work on his physicality to reach that level.
If Mobley listens to all the pieces of advice and puts in the hard yards, he can be the next big thing in the NBA. He needs to develop that strength and athleticism and then he can contend for the ‘Rookie of the Year’ title.
