NBA Draft Dude 🤙

The shooting profile is as Teflon as it gets, but Mobley needs to see real growth as a finisher if he is to become a 2027 prospect. He is a legitimately poor finisher right now. Mobley is a ground-bound finisher who is bothered by length. He tries to change his shot in the air to avoid rim protectors and usually makes the shots tougher than they’d need to be if we went straight into their body, while also taking away any pressure a ref would have to call a foul on the lay-up. Mobley also doesn’t get to the rim all that often, finishing just 48.5% of his 105 rim attempts over his two college seasons. To put that number in context, Mobley has put up over four times the amount of threes in that same span. Mobley does have soft floater touch to mitigate some of the finishing concerns, but he still needs to show much more craft as a three-level scorer. Despite that poor finishing, Mobley still boasted a 60.4% TS% last season, the same percentage as junior Steph, so if he can boost that rim percentage in a tangible way, while maintaining his elite shooting volume, we are looking at an all-time offensive season. One of the ways that Mobley could help his finishing woes is by adding real strength to his frame. If we’re to believe the Ohio State website (always be cautious of team sites), Mobley hit the 190lbs mark this season, which would be huge if true. Strength is one of the more underrated qualities a prospect needs to stay alive at the NBA level, and it is paramount if you are a small guard. Mobley has clearly added mass since he came in at a listed 175 as a freshman. As important as the strength gains are, the athletic gains need to continue. Mobley needs to keep his strong frame while increasing his burst. What allows a guy like NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson to not only succeed but also operate as the best player on any hardwood floor he’s on is that he is not only strong and skilled, but he’s got real-deal tight-space burst. Mobley does have some underrated quickness when he’s creating off the bounce, but an improved stand-still first step he can use to take advantage of how tight defenders need to play him on an island will open up a lot for him. On the other side of the ball, Mobley has been a fine college defender, but his best defense at the next level will be elite offense. Mobley competes on the ball, staying pretty engaged and competing to stay in front of his man. He can get slippery over screens, and he uses his compact frame to stand his ground when creators try to bump him and move through his chest. Mobley’s undoing on this end is that he just doesn’t have the length to really be all that disruptive. Whether on the ball or off of it, shooters can get clean looks off even with a hand in his face, and even though he is good positionally in help, he struggles to create deflections or tips, as he doesn’t have the reach to get to balls other guards can get to. This shows in his pedestrian steal and block rates–an area where Steph Curry mogs him—instead putting him more in line with Seth Curry’s senior season. Mobley will probably never be a positive on the defensive end given his physical limitations, but if he can get to a level where the defense doesn’t fall apart completely, he should provide enough value offensively to make up the difference. Mobley has flaws that some NBA teams may struggle to overlook. Despite the fact that we’re now living in a world where NBA teams are moving on from first round picks faster than ever before, I remain unwavering in my belief that Mobley can carve out a role as a positive NBA contributor. I like to find value in outlier skills, and Mobley is an outlier-level shooter. Now, I don’t truly believe that he is the next Steph Curry, but he is such a nuclear shooter that there is a world where he becomes the next Payton Pritchard or Collin Gillespie (do we have twin theory candidates @NileHoops?!). That outlier value makes him a dude worth betting on.