Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell was named an All-Star starter for the first time in his career.
He will be the first Cavs All-Star starter since LeBron James was voted to the lineup in 2018, according to ESPN Cavs reporter Danny Cunningham. Mitchell finished second in player voting with 117 votes, while guard Darius Garland finished in seventh with 29.
“I appreciate it,” Donovan Mitchell said on NBA on TNT. “I’m definitely blessed and humbled to be a part of this. To be a part of my fourth All-Star, and now to be a starter, man, I couldn’t be happier.”
Milwaukee Bucks forward and All Star captain Giannis Antetokounmpo, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant and Nets guard Kyrie Irving rounded out the Eastern Conference All-Star starters.
The 6-foot-3-inch guard out of Louisville is averaging 28.3 points, four rebounds and 4.8 assists per game in 41 games played for the Cavs, according to Basketball Reference.
Mitchell earned his fourth-straight All-Star selection in six seasons, meaning the 26-year-old guard was considered an All Star for two thirds of his NBA career. He earned three straight with the Utah Jazz since the 2019-20 season, where he scored 24 points, grabbed 4.4 rebounds and dished 4.3 assists per game for a Jazz team that lost in a seven game series to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Donovan Mitchell made his case for the All-Star game when he dropped 71 points on the Chicago Bulls, earning his place in Cavs and NBA history alike when a signed box score from the legendary performance was sent to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
“You hear the chatter about ‘Is he good enough,’ ‘Is he not good enough’ and whatnot,” Mitchell continued. “For me, coming into this season trying to prove a point to myself and prove a point to everybody that I’m as good as I think I am.
“I have to continue to be consistent. This is just one of those goals you want to achieve in your career, but at the end of the day, you’re trying to win games and make it to June.”
