Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell is one of the premier talents in the NBA. His rise to stardom has the Cavs on an exciting path, especially after he extended his contract this offseason.
Mitchell went on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast and discussed, among other things, how he became a star in the NBA. One major component was media criticism, which he said he felt a lot of as a second-year player in the league.
“I started the season on a lower note. I didn’t really come into the season [as in shape] as I should have,” the Cavs star said. “And when people started talking sh*t about, ‘Oh, he not that good,’ and I overcame that little hump, that’s when I was like, ‘Alright, bet. I belong,’ because they only doing that — they not gonna talk sh*t about, you know, the last guy on the bench.”
Mitchell said that a teammate helped him realize that it was a sign of respect to be put under the microscope. He tuned out the media at that point but used the noise to put his career in perspective.
“I realized you got the Stephen A. Smiths talking about, ‘Oh, he can be this. He can be that.’ And then you start struggling then it’s like, ‘Oh, he’s not this. He’s not that.’ That’s when I was like, ‘Alright, bet.’ You overcome that. You start becoming better,” Mitchell said.
Donovan Mitchell reveals role that media criticism played in rise to NBA stardom
The role of Smith and other media figures ended up being critical in Mitchell’s career. The doubt and critiques he took early on showed that he was a player of big stature, which gave him some massively important confidence. Sure, Mitchell did all the heavy lifting but he got the motivation to fight through adversity from his detractors. Without that belief in himself through the early ups and downs, he probably wouldn’t already have five All-Star teams to his name.
Mitchell’s status as a star can be seen in many ways, including the massive haul that the Cavs paid to acquire him in a trade with the Utah Jazz. It’s also evident in the big bucks that Cleveland paid to extend Mitchell’s deal, keeping him locked in as the centerpiece for a talented team. After winning a playoff series last season, the goal for Mitchell and the Cavs is to become bigger competitors with the heavyweights of the Eastern Conference.