On Thursday, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell told ESPN’s Rosalynn Gold-Onod in an interview that he should have been selected to the All-NBA First Team. Instead, the four-time All-Star was named to the Second Team last month.
It was his first NBA honor in his six-year career. On the second team, Mitchell joined Stephen Curry from the Warriors, Jimmy Butler from the Heat, Jaylen Brown from the Celtics, and Nikola Jokic from the Nuggets.
The Mavericks’ Luka Doncic was named to the first team, along with OKC’s Shay Gilgos Alexander, Celtics’ Jason Tatum, Bucks’ Giannis Antetekounmpo and 76ers’ Joel Embiid.
In a few NBA betting sites, the Nuggets are favorites to win the 2023 NBA Finals over the Heat. Some sportsbooks give Jokic, the runner-up MVP, the best odds of winning the Finals MVP award.
“I just felt like I should have been [All-NBA] “First team,” said the Cavaliers star. “So that’s one of my goals for next year, to be first team. And I felt like I was good enough, but the members of the media obviously didn’t.”
In 68 regular season starts, Donovan Mitchell recorded career highs of 28.3 points, 10 field goals and 35.8 minutes per game. Besides recording 4.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.5 steals per game, the former Jazz guard shot career-bests 48.4% from the field and 86.7% at the foul line.
Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell thinks he should have been selected to the All-NBA First Team
In Cleveland’s 145-134 win over the Chicago Bulls on January 2, the guard scored a career-high 71 points in 50 minutes of action. While shooting 22-of-34 (64.7%) from the floor, 7-of-15 (46.7%) outside the arc, and 20-of-25 (80%) at the free throw line, he also tallied eight boards and 11 assists.
In addition, Mitchell scored or assisted 99 points, the second most in NBA history since Wilt Chamberlain (104). This was Chamberlain’s 100-point performance against the Knicks on March 2, 1962.
It was the best offensive outing by a player under 6-foot-5 in league history. Chamberlain was 7-foot-1 when he played. Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was also 6-foot-6.
Moreover, Bryant scored a career high 81 points against the Raptors on January 22, 2006.
“Next season’s success — or lack thereof — could play a factor in Donovan Mitchell’s long-term future with the Cavs.”@employee He reflects on Mitchell’s freshman year in Cleveland before looking ahead ⤵️https://t.co/sdQs5Z0BUD
– The NBA (The AthleticNBA) May 31, 2023
Furthermore, Mitchell ranked eighth in points (1,922), 13th in steals (99), and eighth in field goals (679). Not to mention, he was fourth in 3 points (245), ninth in value on a substitute player (5.0), and tenth in usage percentage (32.1%). He ranked seventh in all NBA voting shares (0.698).
Should the Cavaliers guard have been selected to the All-NBA First Team? It would be hard to make a case for Mitchell against Doncic, Gilgeous-Alexander, Tatum, Antetokounmpo or Embiid. All five players were due.