Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell is one of the most electric players in the Association. Earlier in his career, the 28-year-old won the Slam Dunk Contest, but he doesn’t rise above the rim too often these days. Is that a choice? It appears so. The Cavs star got up on Monday night, throwing down a vicious dunk against the Brooklyn Nets.
Following the win, Spida explained why he decided to show his vintage self in that moment after teammates and friends hilariously doubted his ability to slam the rock.
Via Cleveland.com:
“Rumors around the locker room are that I don’t dunk no more and I don’t got it,” said Mitchell. “I was just so happy to get that opportunity and be able to bless my teammates with something I’ve been doing my whole career. I was very proud of that moment. I was very happy. I was very excited. I will probably post it on IG (Instagram) later.”
“For me, it’s more of a choice,” Mitchell explained. “Why exert that energy if I don’t have to? Tonight, it was really a statement. My friends in my group chat, you all know who you are, they were clowning me and talking about my attempts this year. I figured, why not tonight? Why not at home?”
The Cavs standout felt like Monday was the perfect time to dunk after feeling good in warmups:
“I do it for everybody,” Mitchell said. “I had a dunk today in warmups and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m probably going to get one today.’ I didn’t know how or when. I tried to dunk one and lost the ball, so I was like, ‘Alright, I’m going to get one eventually,’ My group chat can shut up finally. My teammates can shut up finally.”
Dunking or not, Mitchell is putting up impressive numbers for the 23-4 Cavs. He’s averaging 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists on 40.4% shooting from three-point land. Cleveland won’t be too worried about him exerting extra energy to throw down slams, either.
But, when Spida decides to, he’s more than capable of using his athleticism for a signature moment above the cup.
