Basketball

Isaiah Mobley selected in second round by Cleveland Cavaliers

Isaiah reunites with his brother and former USC teammate Evan in Cleveland.

A photo of Evan (left) and Isaiah (right) Mobley wearing cardinal on cardinal USC uniforms during last year's March Madness.

Isaiah (3) and Evan (4) Mobley look on as USC steamrolls Kansas in last year's March Madness. The brothers will reunite in Cleveland following Isaiah's NBA Draft selection on Thursday. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

By Samuel Reno

Mobleys. This one’s for you.

Isaiah Mobley was selected No. 49 overall in the second round of Thursday’s 2022 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He’ll rejoin his brother Evan, who was taken No. 3 overall by the Cavaliers out of USC in last year’s draft.

Isaiah is the sixth USC player to have his name called in the last five drafts, and at least one Trojan has been selected in each of the last five years.

Mobley averaged 14.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game for USC this season, good for seventh and second best, respectively, in the Pac-12 and a selection to the All-Pac-12 First Team.

The junior forward led USC in all five major statistical categories – all year-over-year improvements. With Mobley stepping into the lead role, USC finished with a 26-8 record – the most wins in program history.

In his three seasons at Southern California, the Trojans’ 73 wins were the most in a three-year stretch in school history, a run that included a program-best five straight wins over UCLA.

Despite his All-Pac-12 performance this past season, Mobley will be best known for his explosion during USC’s run to its first Elite Eight in two decades during the 2021 NCAA Tournament — which came alongside Evan, who won Pac-12 Player, Freshman and Defensive Player of the year that season.

Isaiah Mobley scored in double figures and grabbed at least five rebounds in each of the Trojans’ four tournament games. In addition, his 17 points on 4-for-5 from deep helped USC hand Kansas its worst loss in tournament history, an 85-51 rout of the Jayhawks.

Evan posted a double-double that night, just one of many games in which the Mobley duo spearheaded their team’s efforts on both sides of the floor. Now, they’ll be reunited in Cleveland, where they’ll hope to do more of that — this time, on the biggest stage.