Season Wrap: The 2024-25 Cleveland Cavaliers

  • By Mike Passador

    Last Updated on June 20, 2025 9:21 am by Mike Passador | Published: June 20, 2025

    The Cavs had the makings of a dangerous team and the hiring of Kenny Atkinson pushed them over the top, as he was able to get Cleveland’s collection of All-Stars to new heights — at least in the regular season. Evan Mobley was better than ever and the Cavs steamrolled to an elite campaign before getting socked in the mouth in the playoffs. It makes for a disappointing ending, but the Cavs have to like where they’re positioned overall.

    How’d It Go?

    Very well. The Cavs didn’t change much about the group from last year outside of bringing in a new coach who has been selective about his next opportunity; Atkinson’s work with the Nets earned him a quick second chance on merit but he has seemingly been happy to gain more experience as an assistant while dipping his toes into previous interview cycles. A roster with four legitimate core players was too good an opportunity to pass up, and Atkinson was hired as the man to take Cleveland to the next level.

    The Cavs won their first 15 games of the season. They were able to push that record to 33-4 and were 44-10 by the All-Star break. They had three losing streaks — as in, they lost consecutive games — all year; they had three separate win streaks of 10-plus games. More often than not, it was total demolition. Cleveland was dismantling opponents as Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley largely took turns delivering big-time performances. The Cavs ran away with the top seed in the East, powering past the mighty Celtics and eliminating any late-season drama about standings position. They were able to acquire De’Andre Hunter in the middle of his career year to bolster the wing group, but otherwise were happy to let their core guys run the show.

    While the regular season built up legitimate title hopes, the Cavs were bounced in the playoffs by the eventual Eastern Conference champs from Indiana. Cleveland suffered some ugly collapses and didn’t look quite ready for the punch-counterpunch of a high-level playoff series; the sort of thing the Pacers received their education in the year prior. After a season that featured few lengthy injuries besides some early struggles for Max Strus, both Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter were banged up in the second round as the Pacers simply outclassed what looked like the East’s top team. The Cavs lost control of the wheel in their only real moment of adversity this season, and their true test will come when it happens again now that they’ve gone through some collective heartbreak.

    Coaching

    Atkinson guided the Cavs to the second-most wins in a season in franchise history, improving on a 48-win season that saw little turnover with the roster. The Cavs led the league in points per game and 3-point percentage and dropped 120-plus points in over half of their games. On defense, the Cavs ranked eighth in defensive rating while Mobley took home DPOY honors.

    Under Atkinson’s watch, Mobley delivered the finest season of his career. The backcourt of Mitchell and Garland worked like a charm, even if each player suffered some statistical decline in the name of improved team play. Ty Jerome produced a breakout season.

    Atkinson’s first head coaching gig was about developing an assortment of young talent coming out of a rebuild; getting them to play hard and disciplined on the road back to contention. After one season in charge of the Cavs, it looks like Atkinson is plenty capable of leading a team ready to win right this second. The Cavs only have on way to push back against the allegations of them being a mentally weak, “regular season” squad, however, and until they prove otherwise the biggest hurdle for Atkinson may be fixing the team between the ears.

    The Players

    Donovan Mitchell
    SG, Cleveland Cavaliers
    SeasonTeamGPGSMPG FGMFGAFG% FTMFTAFT% 3PTM3PTA3PT% PTSREBAST STLBLKTO
    24-25 CLE 71 71 31.4 8.2 18.6 44.3 4.2 5.1 82.3 3.3 8.9 36.8 24.0 4.5 5.0 1.3 0.2 2.1
    23-24 CLE 55 55 35.3 9.1 19.8 46.2 5.0 5.8 86.5 3.3 9.0 36.8 26.6 5.1 6.1 1.8 0.5 2.8
    22-23 CLE 68 68 35.5 10.0 20.6 48.4 4.7 5.4 86.7 3.6 9.3 38.6 28.3 4.3 4.4 1.5 0.4 2.6

    ADP: 16.9/15.9 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 33/32 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 41/35 (8/9-cat)

    Mitchell was able to deliver another All-Star season and didn’t rest on his laurels after inking a huge contract extension to remain with the Cavs. In fact, that deal probably calmed everything down and allowed the organization to take a big forward step. Mitchell was unable to replicate the fantasy success of 2023-24 as his points, assists, steals and FG% all dipped, but he was coming from such a height that Mitchell remained a core player for fantasy managers. He, like the team as a whole, slowed down late in the year as the Cavs were incentivized to gear up for the postseason and only posted top-75 value after the All-Star break. Mitchell’s FG% cratered in those final 20 games and that ill-timed slump probably cost a few managers some fantasy championships, but the overall body of work was solid.

    If anything, Mitchell’s season is a good illustration of the dangers of buying high at the top of the draft. He was absolute dynamite in 2023-24 but relied on a lot of career-highs in volatile areas to get there. Mitchell meeting his ADP would’ve essentially required him to meet those career-bests in assists and steals again without a dip in FG%. That’s a tall task for anyone, even for a player as talented as Mitchell. Managers did benefit from better availability but he wasn’t as great as the previous season.

    Evan Mobley
    PF, Cleveland Cavaliers
    SeasonTeamGPGSMPG FGMFGAFG% FTMFTAFT% 3PTM3PTA3PT% PTSREBAST STLBLKTO
    24-25 CLE 71 71 30.5 7.1 12.8 55.7 3.1 4.3 72.5 1.2 3.2 37.0 18.5 9.3 3.2 0.9 1.6 2.0
    23-24 CLE 50 50 30.6 6.4 11.0 58.0 2.5 3.4 71.9 0.4 1.2 37.3 15.7 9.4 3.2 0.9 1.4 1.8
    22-23 CLE 79 79 34.4 6.6 12.0 55.4 2.6 3.8 67.4 0.3 1.3 21.6 16.2 9.0 2.8 0.8 1.5 1.8

    ADP: 38.8/59.3 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 24/20 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 30/23 (8/9-cat)

    Mobley was a revelation this past season, posting new career-highs in points, 3-pointers and free throw percentage while holding steady in key areas. The defense was still there and his mark from the field was strong even with added volume from deep, pushing Mobley into the echelon of the elite. He was a much more polished offensive player and benefited from the Cavs spreading the wealth a bit, as they didn’t necessarily lean on any one player to do the heavy lifting. It kept Mobley more engaged on both ends of the floor, and that coupled with his own development unlocked a fantasy monster.

    The key to his growth in fantasy was 3-point shooting. While Mobley taking more triples will hurt his FG% in the long run, it will also do wonders in terms of answering the questions about a long-term pairing with a non-shooter in Jarrett Allen. He had 21 games of multiple longballs this season; in his first three seasons combined Mobley only accomplished that feat 15 times. He was a more dynamic weapon in every sense and met the hype with an impressive career year.

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    June 20, 2025, 9:21 am