Rondo: Mobley might be 'most talented rookie I've ever played with'

Having suited up for nine different teams in his 16-year career, Rajon Rondo has seen just about everything - but nothing quite like 20-year-old big man Evan Mobley.

"He might be the most talented rookie I've ever played with, being able to control so many things on the court, even without scoring the basketball," the Cleveland Cavaliers floor general said Saturday, according to Bally Sports Cleveland's Serena Winters.

Rondo has played alongside several rookies who eventually became solid NBA rotation players - including Avery Bradley, Glen Davis, Kelly Olynyk, and Marcus Smart back in his Boston Celtics days - and promising talents like Onyeka Okongwu and Talen Horton-Tucker. Yet Rondo's comments come after he's only logged 75 minutes on the floor with Mobley since he arrived via trade from the Lakers in early January.

The 7-footer has tallied 15 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.7 blocks in over 34 minutes per game this season - second on the team in playing time behind only Darius Garland. Additionally, opponents are shooting just 48% on shots within six feet of the hoop with Mobley as the primary defender, per NBA Stats. That's superior to that of three-time Defensive Player of the Year winner Rudy Gobert (51.5%).

It's little shock Mobley currently stands as the Rookie of the Year front-runner, but he's surprisingly also already emerged as a contender to make an All-Defensive team. He'd be the first rookie to earn that distinction since San Antonio Spurs Hall of Famer Tim Duncan in 1998.

Mixed with Cleveland's existing young core and resurgent play off the bench from Kevin Love, Mobley has helped push the Cavaliers to a 30-19 record, good for third in the Eastern Conference. If the playoffs began today, Cleveland would boast home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since LeBron James departed the franchise in 2018.