The Cleveland Cavaliers may have received some bad news in their offseason grind, as starting power forward Evan Mobley looked like he had gained significant weight. In a couple of pictures circulating on social media, Mobley is seen with a chubby face alongside former center Tristan Thompson inside a private jet. This comes as the team looks to bounce back from a tough last result: Cleveland Cavaliers 93-130 New York Knicks (2026-05-26).
What happened to Evan Mobley?
During the 2025-2026 NBA season, Mobley averaged 18.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game, anchoring the Cavaliers as an elite two-way player. He appeared in 65 regular-season games, shooting 54.6% from the field (the 15th-best in the league) and providing elite rim protection with 1.7 blocks per contest.
Mobley also showed significant growth as a playmaker, putting up a career-high 3.6 assists. His strong regular-season play carried into the NBA Playoffs, where he started all 18 games and helped propel Cleveland into the Eastern Conference Finals, where they got swept by the eventual NBA champions New York Knicks.
In the playoffs, Mobley averaged 17.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game while increasing his defensive intensity to average 1.8 blocks and 0.9 steals over 35.6 minutes per night.
Why it matters for Cleveland Cavaliers?
After the Cavaliers lost to the Knicks, Evan Mobley revealed what he wanted to do in the offseason. According to Mobley, he is not looking to expand his game, but rather narrow it down. “Right now, it’s kind of narrowing down what my go-to moves are,” Mobley said last May.
“I think I can do a lot of things on the floor. I’m very versatile. I have a lot of skill set. But I think narrowing things down to knowing what moves I’m gonna get to nine times out of 10 will be important, and then, after that, letting my skill set thrive. I think that’s a big step I want to do and change.”
But with his current offseason shape, questions arise about Mobley’s offseason grind. It could just be Mobley bulking in the offseason to try and gain muscle before training camp starts next month.
What comes next?
Mobley is just two years removed from making his first All-Star team, earning All-NBA Second Team status and winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. Mobley understood the struggles he went through in the past season.
“It was a slow shooting year,” Mobley said. “There’s a few things I could have done better, but as the year kept going, I just kept staying positive, kept with my work ethic and trusting the process. I think in the playoffs, all that kind of played out how I kind wanted it to.
“Some games you definitely want some shots back, but overall I think the shooting became better and a lot of different things I did pretty good. Now it’s to the summer and back to work and grinding to make another jump and be even better next year.” It is only a matter of time before Cavaliers fans again see Mobley’s shape on the floor.
