The Cleveland Cavaliers grinded out a tight 128-121 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night, and once again, it was Donovan Mitchell leading the way, as his 45-point outburst carried the Cavs past the lowly Pistons. After the game, though, he made sure to hang back for a minute to have a quick chat with Detroit’s young guard Jaden Ivey.
While Darius Garland’s return from a fractured jaw was the big story heading into this game, Mitchell quickly stole the show with one of his best games of the season (45 PTS, 8 AST, 6 REB, 14-25 FGM). Afterwards, he took a second to lend some advice to Ivey, who’s had a strange year with Detroit, and the moment quickly went viral on social media.
Donovan Mitchell dishes on his interaction with Jaden Ivey
After being selected with the fifth overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft, Ivey enjoyed a strong rookie campaign with the Pistons, but he has strangely seen his role decrease this season. Ivey has still remained a productive player, and Mitchell said that he simply wanted to pay forward some of the great advice he received from players when he was developing like Ivey to the young Detroit guard.
Mitchell was pretty much a star from the moment he entered the NBA, but it took him a while to take the next step forward and become a de facto superstar in the league. Ivey is trying to make a similar sort of jump, but it’s been a trying season for pretty much everyone on the Pistons. It’s great to see Mitchell giving back to the next generation of ballers, and it will be interesting to see whether or not Ivey is able to put his advice to work throughout the remainder of the season.