Cavaliers React to NBA's Major Announcement

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated Apr 24, 2025 7:43 PM ET

The Cleveland Cavaliers are off Thursday night after defeating the Miami Heat, 121-112, in Game 2 of their first-round NBA playoffs matchup on Wednesday to secure a 2-0 lead in the series.

The top-seeded Cavs have now put themselves in a great position as the series shifts to South Beach for Games 3 and 4. At this point, Cleveland's championship aspirations are still very much on track.

There is no denying that the Cavs would not be where they are right now had it not been for the strong play of All-Star forward Evan Mobley. This fact was made even more evident after the NBA announced on Thursday that the 23-year-old has been named the 2025 Defensive Player of the Year. He became the first player in Cavs franchise history to win the award.

The Cavs were extremely excited about the big news, sharing their reaction via X.

"YOUR 2024-25 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR, EVAN MOBLEY," the team posted.

YOUR 2024-25 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR, EVAN MOBLEY. #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/dPpyhEtmfx
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) April 24, 2025

The Cavs then shared a series of posts announcing Mobley's DPOPY win, as well as a number of others that congratulated the 6-foot-11 power forward for his incredible career achievement.

The team also posted a video capturing Mobley and the rest of the squad's reaction the moment they found out that he had won the award.

RELIVE THE MOMENT EV4 FOUND OUT HE WAS 2024-25'S DPOY.@evanmobley | #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/mOZNmhs3Eu
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) April 24, 2025

According to NBA Communications , Mobley finished first in the final vote tally with 285 total points. He beat out Dyson Daniels (197 points) of the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green (154 points), who finished in second and third, respectively.

In 71 games played this season for the Cavs, Mobley produced averages of 18.5 points (a career high) on 55.7% shooting, 9.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.6 blocks, helping Cleveland to a 64-18 record in the regular season.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: