Donovan Mitchell could be one of the next big stars of the NBA, but what do you need to know about him?
This shooting guard joined the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 draft and has been impressing fans with his skills. 2022 has been the best season of his career to date, making fans believe that he could be the next major basketball superstar.
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His Story to Date
Donovan Mitchell was born in New York state and grew up around baseball players thanks to his father’s job in this sport. Injury cut his high school sports career short, as he suffered a broken jaw while playing baseball. After this, he decided to concentrate on basketball when he moved to the program at Brewster Academy, and he gained nationwide attention for a dunk shot that was featured on television.
Donovan played his college basketball with the Louisville Cardinals, representing the University of Louisville. His college career saw him win Atlantic Coast Conference first-team all-conference honors after a slow start where he played relatively little time in his freshman year. As a sophomore he started to impress, making an average of 15.6 points and declared himself for the 2017 NBA draft.
The Denver Nuggets chose Donovan as the 13th overall pick in the draft, but he was then traded to the Utah Jazz, where he signed a four-year deal. A strong rookie season saw him win the Slam Dunk Contest and get named as part of the NBA All-Rookie First Team. We could already see signs that he had a special talent, as he was one of the few NBA rookies to score 40+ points in a game.
The guard continued to impress and the 2020-21 season marked his best performance to date, as Donovan shrugged off his injury woes to lead the Jazz into the postseason as the top seed. He performed well in the Conference Semifinals against the Los Angeles Clippers, but even his huge points hauls in these games couldn’t save Utah from defeat. Another play-off loss the following season led to the player being traded.
His Time at the Cavaliers Sol Far
Donovan joined the Cavaliers in September 2022, with three first round picks and a couple of pick swaps moving in the opposite direction. His debut saw him get 31 points and nine assists, before carrying on with impressive returns in the following games. He’s spoken about the fact that dealing with racial issues in Salt Lake City was “draining on my energy”, which could help to explain why his performances have gone up another level in Ohio.
At the time of writing, Donovan is sitting with an average of over 29 points for the season, and he’s helped the Cavalier climb to third place in the Eastern Conference. A 21-11 record sees them just behind the Bucks and the Celtics. The big question right now is whether he can help the Cavs to reach the NBA Finals.
Cleveland are almost certain to make it to the playoffs stage after their strong start to this season. After four successive seasons where they’ve failed to reach the playoffs, Cavaliers fans will be looking for Donovan to inspire them into the postseason. The player pointed out in a press conference that the team is “scary” on paper but that they haven’t yet achieved anything.
During his time with Utah, the player known as Spida reached the playoffs regularly, but never managed to get any further than the second round of the postseason. He’ll be hoping to progress further this time around, while Cleveland fans are hoping he’ll inspire them to success. If he does this, Donovan Mitchell’s status as the next NBA superstar could be confirmed.