Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Evan Mobley has been named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first Cavs player to receive the award.

Mobley, a 23-year-old seven-footer from San Diego, is in his fourth NBA season, all with the Cavaliers, who had the league's second-best record at 64-18 and are the top seeds in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

A 100-member global media panel voted on the award, with Mobley getting a total of 285 points and Atlanta's Dyson Daniels second on 197. Golden State's Draymond Green was third on 154 points.

Mobley averaged 18.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists for Cleveland in the regular season and was equally impressive defensively.

He ranked sixth in the NBA with 1.59 blocked shots per game and 13th with 7.0 defensive rebounds per contest. He also contested 10.4 shots a game.

When Mobley was the nearest defender, opponents shot 44.5 percent from the floor, 3.2 percent lower than their expected percentage on such shots.

Cleveland ranked eighth in the NBA's defensive ratings and third in opponent field goal percentage but when Mobley was on the court, the Cavs' defensive rating improved to a level that would have ranked second in the league. (AFP)