Transferred to the Cavs a few weeks ago, Donovan Mitchell is boiling hot at the start of the 2022-23 season. Proof being his recent media release, which should not be well received by some of his counterparts, Klay Thompson and Devin Booker in the lead.
The excitement must be increased tenfold to Donovan Mitchell, right now. On the one hand, he will finally be able to do battle again on the courts, after several months of waiting. On the other hand, the star will do it under brand new colors, since he said goodbye to Jazz at the beginning of September. It is now in Cleveland that Spida will shine, within a team that is both young and very ambitious, which wants to confirm the hopes of last year (surprise qualification at the Play-In).
For a player like No. 45, this is the perfect opportunity to showcase himself, in order to get everyone to agree in Ohio. If he will play alongside a very talented point guard in the person of Darius Garland, he is used to playing the leading roles and he does not particularly intend to change his approach. Recently interviewed by Complexhe also threw a big stone in the pond, saying that he was simply the big boss at his post:
Donovan Mitchell sees himself as the No. 1 fullback in the NBA
I think I’m one of the best, and even the best. I can’t sit here and say there’s someone better than me. I can’t. I think I’m the best in my position and I have to prove it on the pitch. Until I do that, until I prove it day after day on the pitch, I won’t be satisfied with myself. This is my state of mind.
Like I said, last year I wasn’t really happy with the way I played and the fact that I didn’t measure up. Naturally, there will be rankings based on this. There will be people who will say what they want, but I know what I can do. I know what I have done so far and I have to go out there, keep working and improving.
Klay Thompson and Devin Booker, who play in the same position as him, will certainly not appreciate this overflowing statement of confidence from the former Mormon. As a reminder, the media do not necessarily share the same opinion as Mitchell, The Athletic ranking him, for example, behind the Suns franchise player. It must be said that if D-Booker went to the Finals with his family, Spida never passed the second round of the playoffs.
This is also the biggest criticism that has been made to him so far in his career, in addition to his defensive largesse which has regularly annoyed Rudy Gobert in Utah. At the Cavs, he will have no room for error, especially since the squad of JB Bickerstaff relies on his experience to guide it. If he never went very far during this one, the guard still played nearly forty post-season games. Enough to know how to take the measure of this kind of moments.
Donovan Mitchell is convinced he is the best back in the league, and intends to prove it to everyone in the months to come. If this can allow him to pull Cleveland up, the Ohio franchise will certainly find nothing wrong with it.