Cavaliers Star Named Eastern Conference Defensive Player Of The Month

Cleveland's Evan Mobley helped guide the Cavaliers to a 12-1 record in the month of December, which was tied for the best in the NBA.

Dec 30, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) defends against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the second quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images / John Hefti-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers own the NBA's best record at 29-4, which was the 2024-25 season's best mark for the 2024 calendar year.

While the team's offense has been arguably the NBA's best so far this season, Cleveland's defense had a remarkable month of December. And one player's defensive efforts during this span stood out among the NBA's elite.

On Thursday, Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley was named the Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month for the month of December.

Memphis Grizzlies forward-center Jaren Jackson Jr. and Cleveland Cavaliers forward-center Evan Mobley have been named the Kia NBA Western and Eastern Conference Defensive Players of the Month, respectively, for games played in December. pic.twitter.com/jHxsahOy8F

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 2, 2025

For the month of December, the 23-year-old's 39.0% defensive field goal percentage led the NBA among players with at least 12 defensive field goal attempts per game.

Additionally, Mobley ranked second in the Eastern Conference with 120 contested shots, and sixth with an average of 1.4 blocks per contest. He was also one of just three players in the Eastern Conference to average at least 1.4 blocks and 1.0 steals per game during the month.

Dec 30, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) defends against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the second quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images / John Hefti-Imagn Images

The 2022-23 All-Defensive First Team selection is the first Cavalier to win a Defensive Player of the Month Award in franchise history. The honor was introduced this season, and he joins Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels as the only players to receive the award for the Eastern Conference.

As a team, the Wine and Gold led the Eastern Conference with a 106.2 defensive rating in the month of December.

They also ranked top-five in the NBA in: opponent three-pointers made per game (11.9, second), opponent field goal percentage (43.8%, third), opponent three-point percentage (33.8%, fifth), and opponent field goals made per game (39.2, fifth).

The Cavaliers will look to build on their strong defensive December when they face the Dallas Mavericks on the road on Friday, Jan. 3 to begin their 2025 schedule.