Lakers' LeBron James Praises Evan Mobley, Says Cavs Rookie Will Be 'Damn Good'

Evan Mobley didn't come away with a victory on Saturday night against the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Cleveland Cavaliers rookie at least earned some high praise from The King.

LeBron James said Mobley is "going to be a damn good basketball player in this league" following the Lakers' 113-101 win, per Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor:

"It's so crazy because he was just playing against my son a couple years ago. It's weird. It's getting more weird by the day. He was playing against my son in the playoffs two years ago and obviously we saw what he did in the tournament — just electrifying. Cleveland has a good one. They've done a good job over the years in the draft, I'll say."

Mobley had a team-high 23 points along with six rebounds, three assists and two steals for Cleveland.

The 20-year-old is averaging 15.3 points and 8.2 rebounds through six games. The Athletic's John Hollinger wrote how "it appears early on that all the hype about Mobley as a Chris Bosh 2.0 is legit."

After trading away Kyrie Irving and losing James to free agency, the Cavs have lacked a true foundational star. Collin Sexton isn't that kind of talent, and Darius Garland shows promise but doesn't appear to be an All-NBA guard in the making.

Mobley, on the other hand, is shaping up to be a dynamic two-way talent. Even if the Cavs miss the playoffs this season, they have reason to be really optimistic about their future for the first time since James left.