David Richard – USA TODAY Sports
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Emoni Bates appears to have gained a lot of weight since he was selected by the team with the 49th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
According to Cleveland's recently released summer league roster, Bates weighs 190 pounds, 20 pounds more than he weighed in his rookie season, but Bates said that 190 isn't his current weight; he's 196 pounds.
Cleveland will open its summer league season on July 12 in Las Vegas against the Orlando Magic. The Cavaliers will then play the Milwaukee Bucks on July 14, the Golden State Warriors on July 17 and the Los Angeles Lakers on July 18.
Bates didn't play many minutes during his rookie season with the Cavaliers, appearing in just 15 of Cleveland's 82 games during the 2023-24 regular season, averaging 2.7 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.
Moreover, the youngster has only played in five games for the Cavaliers since December. His final NBA game of the season was on April 14th in Cleveland's game against the Charlotte Hornets, where he recorded seven points on 3-of-12 field goal attempts and 1-of-5 three-pointers, along with three rebounds, three assists and six turnovers.
Bates spent the majority of his first pro season playing for the Cavaliers' G League affiliate, the Cleveland Charge, and showed potential at that level, appearing in 17 G League regular season games with the Charge and averaging 19.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.
But Bates' scoring efficiency in the G League also needs to improve, as he shot just 38.7 percent from the field and 34.6 percent from three-point range in 17 regular-season games with the Charges.
And while he didn't take many free throws, considering his average is just 1.8 free throw attempts per game, he made 90.3% of his free throws and made the most of his free throw opportunities.
It's also worth noting that he was extremely efficient in the G League Showcase Cup (a 10-game sample size), averaging a staggering 24.8 points per game.
Cavaliers fans must be hoping that now that Bates has put on weight, he'll gain the strength and size he needs to take his game to the next level.
