'He's expanding his palate': Cavs' Evan Mobley gets gains with nutrition plan and home gym

CLEVELAND — Evan Mobley spent the Cavaliers offseason using pasta, steaks and a home gym to bolster his chances of becoming a first-time All-Star selection and NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

He conceded he's hungry to achieve those goals.

“I'm really looking to take take off this year,” Mobley said Monday during Cavs Media Day.

Mobley explained a new nutrition plan facilitated by a private chef and the addition of a home gym to his house in California helped him gain 7 pounds of muscle in the offseason. He played at about 215 pounds last season and weighs 222 now.

“Your body's like the temple, and as long as you keep building that up everything else will follow,” said Mobley, the third overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.

The 7-foot Mobley said his meal plan mostly calls for adding food instead of eliminating anything from his diet. The power forward said he eats a lot of pasta and has gotten into steaks recently.

“That is new for him,” Isaiah Mobley, Evan's older brother who signed a two-way contract with the Cavs in July for the second consecutive summer, told the Beacon Journal. “He's expanding his palate, which I'm proud of. He's always prior been a little bit more of a picky eater, but he's doing the steps it takes to gain that muscle mass and get his body how he wants it.”

Evan Mobley said improving his physicality and boosting his strength “was a big focus” as he prepared for his third professional season.

“No one's getting 25 pounds over a summer,” Isaiah Mobley said. “It's just hard to do. But 5 pounds, 7 pounds each summer in three years, that is around 25 pounds of muscle that you've put on. So [we want to do it] the right way each and every summer, offseason to get better, and that's what we've been doing.”

Cavs strength and conditioning head coach Derek Millender helped design the California home gym, which is decorated with Evan Mobley's logos, Isaiah Mobley said. The gym is roughly the size of a two-car garage and contains dumbbells, a squat rack, a squat machine, kettlebells, a pull-up bar and other weight-lifting equipment.

“Everything I need,” Evan Mobley said.

The 6-10 Isaiah Mobley said he has bulked up to 230 pounds in the offseason by adding 4 or 5 pounds of muscle. He and his brother frequently work out together and push one another.

“I was able to hit some personal records, and I'm happy about it,” Isaiah Mobley said.

A second-round pick (No. 49 overall) last year, Isaiah Mobley said he recently executed a dead lift of 435 pounds after it had been hovering slightly above 300 last season. He helped the Cavs win the Summer League Championship in July, averaging 17.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 28.3 minutes. He was voted the Most Valuable Player of the title game, a 99-78 victory over the Houston Rockets in which he compiled 28 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.

Evan Mobley played 79 regular-season games last season and averaged 16.2 points on 55.4% shooting from the field, 9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.5 blocks and 34.4 minutes. In Cleveland's 4-1 first-round playoff series defeat to the New York Knicks, Mobley averaged 9.8 points on 45.8% shooting from the field, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.2 blocks and 37.6 minutes. He finished third in voting for NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

The Cavs envision an even brighter future for Evan Mobley, who should only benefit from a sturdier frame.

“Evan Mobley's 22 years old. We always have to remember that,” Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman said. “But at 22, when you invest in your own personal gym at your home, that's a big deal. That's understanding what I have to do to get better physically. When you invest in your own nutrition program at that age, that's a big sign that I really care about this thing, and I want to get better.”

Isaiah Mobley, 24, said the addition of a home gym made offseason training more efficient. The brothers would often wake up, eat breakfast, lift weights at home, drive to a nearby gym to practice shooting and go through drills and then receive physical therapy. Sometimes they would partake in a second workout later in the day at the University of Southern California, where they played college basketball and their father, Eric, is an assistant coach.

The Mobleys trained in the offseason under the guidance of three strength and conditioning coaches, two with the Cavs and another with their agency.

“Using all three of those guys, we were able to get a lot of gains,” Isaiah Mobley said.

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The Cavs are eager to see it all translate to the court this coming season and beyond.

“We don't know what Evan's going to look like at 25 years old,” Altman said. “All we know is at 22 years old, he's doing the right things every single day to improve and attack this thing, so we're excited.”

Bring on the pasta, steaks and in-house weights.

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Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavs' Evan Mobley hits weights, becomes a less 'picky eater'