Hot this Month

Evan Mobley (Cleveland Cavaliers, USC)

Evan Mobley is finally an All-Star. Two months ago, I talked about Mobley’s improvements on the offensive end, which finally elevated his game to the level many analysts expected from him in previous seasons.

Mobley has proven that his improvements were not a fluke, and he can now finally call himself an NBA All-Star.

The 2021 NBA Draft class only had one All-Star before this season (Scottie Barnes last year), but now Mobley, Alperen Sengun, and Cade Cunningham have been added to that list.

This class is getting better and better as time goes on, so Mobley will have to keep improving on the offensive side of the ball if he wants to be remembered as the best player in the class.

Last month, Mobley only averaged 29.7 minutes per game because the Cavs blew out most of their opponents, but he made them count. He put up 20.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks a night while shooting 57.6% from the field and averaging a plus/minus of +15.1 in 12 games.

Cleveland won 11 of those 12 games, and Mobley has been integral to their success. They are 44-6 with him fully healthy, and 4-4 in games he missed or couldn’t finish.

Mobley recently said he and Victor Wembanyama could be the best players on the planet in five years.

Referring to Mobley’s claims, Kenny Atkinson then told Mobley, “Your next step is believing that. Do you believe? You have all the tools.”

Now that Wemby is out for the season, Mobley can take a big step toward achieving that goal by winning the 2025 Defensive Player of the Year award.

Rui Hachimura (Los Angeles Lakers, Gonzaga)

Rui Hachimura is two years older than most of his fellow 2019 draftees, but the Japanese sensation is keeping up with his peers by playing some of the best basketball of his career.

Many thought the Luka Doncic trade would hurt Hachimura and lower his opportunities, but it had done the opposite. With Doncic and LeBron James on the floor, life has been easier for their teammates, and players such as Hachimura have benefited tremendously.

In his last 11 games, the former ninth overall pick has averaged 17.9 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 55.1% from the field and 42.2% from three.

His effective field goal percentage of 65.1 is the second-most among all players with at least 130 shot attempts during that span. The Lakers have gone 9-2 in those 11 games and finally look like contenders again.

But if LeBron James wants to win ring number five and become the unquestioned GOAT, he’ll need players like Hachimura to keep playing well.

Rookie Report

Jaylen Clark (Minnesota Timberwolves, UCLA)

What a great comeback story. Jaylen Clark was actually picked in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft but made his NBA debut in January of 2025. So, what happened?

Clark was doing great in his third year at UCLA, being a key part of one of the best teams in the nation, and many NBA scouts had their eye on him. But then, disaster struck, as he tore his Achilles in the final game of the college regular season.

But Clark didn’t give up. He was drafted 53rd overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves and missed the entire 2023-24 season. He started this season with the Iowa Wolves in the G-League, but as mentioned before, he made his NBA debut in January.

Now, he’s becoming a solid contributor, averaging 6.9 points and 1.4 steals while shooting 47.4% from the floor and 44.0% from deep in his last 11 games. He even started three of those 11, and his role on the team is getting bigger and bigger.

KJ Simpson (Charlotte Hornets, Colorado)

Sticking with another second-round pick, KJ Simpson was picked 42nd overall by the Hornets in the 2024 NBA Draft and has split time between the NBA and the G-League.

Simpson is trying his best to make the most out of his limited NBA appearances by shooting the ball almost every chance he gets.

Sometimes it works, such as a three-game stretch where he averaged 12.3 points on over 50% shooting. And sometimes it doesn’t, like when he went 3-12 immediately after that stretch, which caused him to get demoted back to the G-League.

He returned to the team as a starter on February 25, scoring 16 points in a losing effort to the Warriors.

It took 18 shots for him to do that, but his performance drew some praise from his head coach Charles Lee: “KJ is always going to make the most of his opportunity.”

An Awkward Fit?

Kyle Kuzma (Milwaukee Bucks, Utah)

After months of catching slack from Wizards fans who wanted Kyle Kuzma to get off their team due to his poor fit with the team’s timeline, the Utah product was traded to the Bucks in a four-team trade which also saw Khris Middleton go to Washington.

Unfortunately, Kuzma’s fit with his new team is questionable at best.

He is shooting 29.3% from deep as a Buck and will have to play more minutes than ever now due to Bobby Portis’ 25-game suspension.

Fans are starting to understand why Wizards fans were so negative towards Kuzma, and he’ll have to turn things around quickly if he wants to win his second NBA championship.

Top Veterans

Dillon Brooks (Houston Rockets, Oregon)

It seems like the massive media coverage around Dillon Brooks has died down ever since he arrived in Houston, and he’s playing some of the most efficient basketball of his career away from all the noise.

Over his last 14 games, Brooks has put up 15.2 PPG on 45.2% shooting from deep. Not even an illness could slow him down, as he drained four threes and scored 16 points in an impressive home win against Milwaukee after getting sick.

Derrick White (Boston Celtics, Colorado)

Derrick White is arguably the NBA’s best role player, and one could make the case for him being one of the league’s most valuable pieces.

White has been on fire recently, putting up averages of 18.1 points and 5.0 assists a night on 49.3% shooting from the field and 45.6% shooting from three in his last 12 games.

The Celtics won 11 games in that stretch, which includes an important win against the Cavaliers. White scored eight points in a row late in that game, which ended all hopes of a Cavs comeback.

His true shooting percentage of 68.6 is the third-highest among all players in the league with 140+ shots in that span. White’s efforts should not go unnoticed if Boston wins another championship in June.