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Cavaliers Reunite Mobley Brothers After Selecting Isaiah at No. 49

The USC forward will join his younger, All-Rookie brother in Cleveland.

Zach Koons

Cavaliers Reunite Mobley Brothers After Selecting Isaiah at No. 49
Cavaliers Reunite Mobley Brothers After Selecting Isaiah at No. 49 /
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Cleveland will be the host of a Mobley family reunion after the Cavaliers elected to draft USC forward Isaiah Mobley in the 2022 NBA draft, just a year after selecting his younger brother Evan. 

The Cavs took Isaiah off the board in the second round with the No. 49 pick during Thursday night’s event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The former five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American is fresh off of his most productive year with the Trojans, which landed him a spot on the All-Pac 12 First Team.

Isaiah Mobley started in 32 games for USC as a junior and averaged 14.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest. He posted a career-high in free throw percentage–shooting 68.2%, up from 54.5% as a sophomore–and showed flashes as a distributor, dishing out 3.3 assists per game last season. 

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Isaiah will now get the chance to bring his talents to Cleveland, where the Cavaliers boast a young core, bursting with talent and upside. Among those leading that group is Evan Mobley, Isaiah’s younger brother. 

After being selected as the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NBA draft, Evan quickly made his mark at the professional level. As a rookie during the 2021–22 season, he averaged 15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game on his way to being named to the All-Rookie First Team. He also made his presence felt on defense, racking up 1.7 blocks per contest. 

Coming off his stellar rookie year, Evan will now get to welcome his brother to Cleveland. The Cavaliers will hope that the frontcourt duo will help power them to the next level of the Eastern Conference next season.

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Zach Koons
ZACH KOONS

Zach Koons is a programming editor at Sports Illustrated who frequently writes about Formula One. He joined SI as a breaking/trending news writer in February 2022 before joining the programming team in 2023. Koons previously worked at The Spun and interned for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He currently hosts the "Bleav in Northwestern" podcast and received a bachelor's in journalism from Northwestern University.

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