They’ve played for each other all season, with Mitchell leading by example by taking on a lesser role on the offensive end to enable Garland and Mobley to become the best versions of themselves. The Cavaliers went on to finish with the top-rated offense (121) in the league this season.
For Mitchell, sacrificing for his team was a no-brainer.
In Utah, not only did he experience a seemingly endless series of disappointments on the court, but he dealt withracism off of it. In Cleveland, he finally feels as though he belongs.
“The city of Cleveland has really won me over,” Mitchell told FOX Sports. “I really enjoy being there. It feels like home. That’s my biggest thing. Basketball is going to be basketball. But you spend most of your time there and I feel like it’s home. It feels safe. I feel like I’m at peace. And that’s truly one of the biggest things for me.”
This season, Mitchell averaged his fewest shots since his rookie campaign (18.6) and had a career-low in minutes (31.4), a selfless act for a player who’s capable of scoring 71 points in a game, as he did for the Cavaliers in 2023.
Yet, despite finishing with less gaudy stats than usual this season (24 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5 assists a game), his name was exalted. He’s considered a strong contender to be named to the All-NBA first team for the first time in his career, as well as possibly finishing in the top-five in MVP voting.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers soared, smashing expectations and gaining respect as true championship contenders.
The city hasn’t had this much hope since LeBron James’ two stints with the Cavaliers, which included reaching the Finals four straight seasons (2015-2018), and leading them to their first championship in 2016, before leaving in free agency in the summer of 2018.
The Cavaliers went on to miss the postseason four seasons in a row from 2019-2022 before Mitchell arrived. In 2023, Mitchell carried them to the first round of the playoffs. Last season, he brought them to the second round, where they lost to the eventual-champion Boston Celtics.
Mitchell is well-aware that he has breathed new life into a sports-obsessed city that wants to experience greatness again.
In fact, he wants to redefine the Cavaliers’ legacy from being a franchise that’s completely dependent on James to determine its pinnacles and nadirs, to being a team that can reach the top with a new set of stars.
“We don’t talk about necessarily it being the first time since LeBron has left,” Mitchell told FOX Sports of the Cavaliers being contenders. “I think it’s more so what we can do as a group and be special. I think it’s something we definitely want to do for our own right. LeBron has done incredible things for the franchise. Now it’s time for us to try to continue to bring another championship to the city.”
For Mitchell, that’s going to be an uphill battle.
The Cavaliers are ravished by injuries, with two All-Stars missing Game 2. Haliburton has transformed from being labeled the most overrated player in the NBA in apoll by his peers, to becoming the most clutch player this postseason. Mitchell has given everything he has this series, averaging 40.5 points while being a dogged defender, but it hasn’t been enough.
“I don’t know what more he could do,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said.
But Mitchell is just gritting his teeth harder.
He knows what the Cavaliers are capable of accomplishing. They had their most wins in 15 years this season. They one-upped their remarkable 15-0 start with a 16-game win-streak that extended through mid-March.
This team has something special.
It’s why Mitchell, who didn’t want to land in Cleveland three years ago, agreed to a three-year, $150.3 million contract extension with the team last July.
In fact, Mitchell made that decision six months earlier, while playing a regular-season game in Paris as part of the NBA’s Global Games initiative against the Brooklyn Nets, which, ironically, were one of the teams he had initially hoped to join.
At that time, Mitchell realized he had bonded with his teammates. He had fallen in love with Cleveland. And amid rumors he would leave, he made up his mind that he was going to stay.
“When we were in Paris, it just felt different,” Mitchell told FOX Sports. “You had that feeling that this is where you want to be. I felt that early on, too. But once we did the Paris trip, I knew I was coming back, for sure.”
Now, Mitchell is pouring himself into resuscitating the Cavaliers’ season.
In Cleveland, he not only found a great team, but he found a home.
And while his path to winning his first championship just became more serpentine, he’s up for the challenge.
“That’s what you play for,” Mitchell told FOX Sports. “You continue to run into a wall, and, how do you figure it out? It didn’t happen in Utah. And the goal is to get it done here.”
Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.
Donovan Mitchell
Cleveland Cavaliers
National Basketball Association
