Donovan Mitchell

Donovan Mitchell
Mitchell in 2018
No. 45 – Utah Jazz
Position Shooting guard
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1996-09-07) September 7, 1996
Elmsford, New York
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight 215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school Brewster Academy
(Wolfeboro, New Hampshire)
College Louisville (2015–2017)
NBA draft 2017 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13th overall
Selected by the Denver Nuggets
Playing career 2017–present
Career history
2017–present Utah Jazz
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Donovan Corey Mitchell Jr. (born September 7, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals. He was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 13th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft and was later traded on draft night to the Utah Jazz. During his rookie season, Mitchell was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team and won the Slam Dunk Contest.

Early life

Donovan Mitchell was born on September 7, 1996 to parents Donovan Mitchell Sr. and Nicole Mitchell. His father Donovan Sr. serves as director of players relations for the New York Mets. He has a younger sister named Jordan.[1][2] Mitchell was born and raised in Elmsford, New York[3] and attended Greenwich Country Day School in Greenwich, Connecticut.[3][2] Mitchell played his AAU basketball for The City and Riverside Hawks programs based out of New York City.[4]

High school career

Mitchell attended Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut for his sophomore year of high school[5] before transferring to Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire for his junior and senior years.[6] Along with basketball, he also played baseball in high school for two years, but focused on basketball when he went to Brewster, a move which garnered him more attention from college basketball coaches.[7][8] He committed to the University of Louisville to play college basketball.[9]

College career

Mitchell decided to wear the jersey number 45, showing his appreciation for Michael Jordan, as 45 is the number Jordan wore for his baseball career and during the early part of his first comeback in 1995. As a freshman at the University of Louisville, Mitchell averaged 7.4 points, 1.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game.[10] As a sophomore, he averaged 15.6 points, 2.7 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game. Mitchell shot 46.3 percent from the floor, 35.4 percent from behind the arc and 80.6 percent from the free-throw line.[11] He was named to the First Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference.[12] After the season, he entered the 2017 NBA draft, but did not immediately hire an agent.[13][14]

Professional career

Utah Jazz (2017–present)

Rookie season (2017–18)

Mitchell was drafted by the Denver Nuggets with the 13th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft only to be traded to the Utah Jazz for the 24th pick (Tyler Lydon) and Trey Lyles.[15] On July 5, 2017, Mitchell signed a four-year rookie scale contract with the Jazz.[16] On July 11, 2017, Mitchell signed a multi-year shoe deal with Adidas. Later that day, Mitchell scored 37 points against the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2017 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, the most by any player during the 2017 NBA Summer League.[17] In his NBA debut on October 18, 2017, Mitchell registered 10 points and 4 assists against the Denver Nuggets.[18] On December 1, 2017, he scored a career-high 41 points in a 114–108 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. He set the Jazz scoring record for a rookie and became the first NBA rookie to score 40 points in a game since Blake Griffin in 2011.[19] He surpassed Darrell Griffith's team-record 38 in 1981.[20] Mitchell also became the seventh rookie in franchise history to have a 30-plus point game, as well as the first to have a 40-plus point game.[21] On January 4, 2018, Mitchell was named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for December 2017 after averaging 23.1 points, 3.4 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 34.3 minutes per game during the month of December.[22] On January 15, 2018, Mitchell surpassed Karl Malone for most 20+ points games during a rookie season when he had his 19th 20+ point game.[23] On February 2, 2018 Donovan recorded his second 40 point game of his rookie season against the Phoenix Suns, becoming the first rookie guard to notch two 40-point games since Allen Iverson in 1996-97. [24] On February 5, 2018, Donovan was officially named by the NBA as an injury replacement for Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon (strained left hip flexor) for the 2018 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.[25] He won the contest scoring a 48 and 50 in the first round, then a 50 and 48 in the final round being the first rookie to win the contest since Zach LaVine. On March 1, 2018, Mitchell was named as the Western Conference rookie of the month for the 3rd time this season for games played in February.[26] On April 10, he set a rookie record for most three-pointers in a season with 186 three-pointers during a 119–79 win over the Golden State Warriors.[27] On April 12, at the end of the regular season, Mitchell was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for March and April.[28]

In Mitchell's playoff debut against the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 15, he recorded 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists.[29] However, during the game he bruised his foot and was questionable for Game 2.[30] He ended up playing in Game 2, scoring 28 points, including 13 in the 4th quarter to lead the Jazz to a 102–95 win. Mitchell set a new record for points by a shooting guard in their first two postseason games with 55 points, breaking Michael Jordan's record of 53 points.[31] Mitchell led the Jazz to a 4-2 series win over the Thunder, averaging 28.5 points a game on 46.2 percent shooting.[32] His 171 points in the series were the third-most ever by a rookie in his first six playoff games, behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain.[32] His 38 points in Game 6 (on 14-of-26 shooting) marked the highest scoring output by a rookie in a series-clinching win since 1980.[32] On May 22, 2018, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.[33]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Utah 797133.4.437.340.8053.73.71.5.320.4
Career 797133.4.437.340.8053.73.71.5.320.4

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018 Utah 111137.4.420.313.9075.94.21.5.424.4
Career 111137.4.420.313.9075.94.21.5.424.4

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015–16 Louisville 31519.1.442.250.7543.41.7.8.17.4
2016–17 Louisville 343332.3.408.354.8064.92.72.1.515.6
Career 653826.0.418.329.7884.12.21.5.311.7

Off the court

During the 2017–18 season Mitchell appeared on the cover of SLAM Magazine and is now starring in a documentary called "Rookie on the Rise".[34][35] The docu-series follows Mitchell on his race for the Rookie Of The Year. [36] The series is available for viewing on Young Hollywood TV – a digital network available on Apple TV, Amazon Channels, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast and Roku. The series could also be viewed on younghollywood.com, Facebook Watch, Young Hollywood’s YouTube page, Twitter and other social channels. [37]

References

  1. ↑ Polacek, Scott (February 18, 2018). "Donovan Mitchell Talks Importance of Sister Jordan Participating in Dunk Contest". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  2. 1 2 Goon, Kyle (March 24, 2018). "Donovan Mitchell has learned the value of education from his mom — that's why he's going to finish his degree". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  3. 1 2 Woodyard, Eric (November 15, 2017). "New York native Donovan Mitchell cherishes Madison Square Garden debut". Deseret News. Retrieved February 12, 2018. His locker room nametag may read Greenwich, Connecticut, but he was actually born in Elmsford, New York
  4. ↑ Berman, Marc (7 June 2017). "Mets executive's son is high on the Knicks' draft radar". New York Post. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  5. ↑ "DONOVAN MITCHELL". 247sports.com. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  6. ↑ Jones, Steve (18 January 2015). "Donovan Mitchell preps for U of L career". Springfield, Mass: The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  7. ↑ Greer, Jeff (26 October 2016). "Donovan Mitchell: Baseball star?". cincinnati.com. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  8. ↑ Reid, Christian (17 March 2017). "How a baseball injury led Connecticut native Donovan Mitchell to star for Louisville hoops under Rick Pitino". New York Daily News. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  9. ↑ "Four-star guard Donovan Mitchell commits to Louisville". si.com. Sports Illustrated. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  10. ↑ Greer, Jeff (10 November 2016). "Is Donovan Mitchell Cards' next star?". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  11. ↑ Varney, Dennis (22 June 2017). "Utah Jazz take Louisville's Donovan Mitchell after draft-night trade involving former UK star". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  12. ↑ Press Release (2017-03-05). "ACC Announces All-Conference Team, Postseason Awards, All-ACC Teams". theacc.com. Retrieved 2016-03-05.
  13. ↑ Goodman, Jeff (22 March 2017). "Donovan Mitchell to enter draft, but may return to Louisville". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  14. ↑ Greer, Jeff (22 March 2017). "Mitchell declares for NBA draft, won't hire agent". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  15. ↑ Polacek, Scott (June 22, 2017). "Donovan Mitchell Picked No. 13 in NBA Draft, Nuggets to Trade Him to Jazz". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  16. ↑ Daniels, Tim (July 5, 2017). "Donovan Mitchell Signs Utah Jazz Rookie Contract". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  17. ↑ Aulbach, Lucas (July 11, 2017). "Donovan Mitchell signs shoe deal with Adidas, then scores 37 points at NBA Summer League". Courier-Journal. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  18. ↑ Genessy, Jody (October 18, 2017). "Donovan Mitchell's NBA career gets off to a very quick start". deseretnews.com. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  19. ↑ "NBA rookie Donovan Mitchell scores 41 points as Jazz beat Pelicans". news.com.au. 2 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  20. ↑ Associated Press (1 December 2017). "Rookie Donovan Mitchell scores career-high 41, Jazz beat Pelicans". Sportsnet.ca. Salt Lake City: Sportsnet. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  21. ↑ "Donovan Mitchell goes for career-high 41 in Jazz victory". ESPN.com. December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum, Utah Jazz's Donovan Mitchell named Kia Rookies of Month". NBA.com. January 4, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  23. ↑ Powell, Shaun (January 24, 2018). "League taking note of Donovan Mitchell's impressive rookie campaign". NBA.com. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  24. ↑ "What Donovan Mitchell's Iverson comps mean for the Jazz". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  25. ↑ "Utah Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell to replace Aaron Gordon in 2018 Verizon Slam Dunk". NBA.com. February 5, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  26. ↑ "76ers' Ben Simmons, Jazz's Donovan Mitchell named Kia Rookies of Month for February". NBA.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  27. ↑ "Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell breaks rookie record for 3-pointers". NBA.com. April 10, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  28. ↑ "76ers' Ben Simmons, Jazz's Donovan Mitchell named Kia Rookies of Month for March, April". NBA.com. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  29. ↑ "Thunder's Paul George, Jazz's Donovan Mitchell set to play Game 2". nba.com. April 18, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  30. ↑ Devine, Dan (April 18, 2018). "'I've got to be smart with it': Donovan Mitchell (left foot contusion) questionable for Game 2 vs. Thunder". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  31. ↑ Young, Royce (April 19, 2018). "Donovan Mitchell's 55 points in his first 2 playoff games most ever by guard". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  32. 1 2 3 "Donovan Mitchell dominated the Thunder in his playoff series debut". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  33. ↑ "Donovan Mitchell, Ben Simmons lead 2017-18 NBA All-Rookie first team". NBA.com. May 22, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  34. ↑ Woodyard, Eric (March 21, 2018). "Donovan Mitchell becomes second Utah Jazz player to make cover of SLAM magazine". deseretnews.com. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  35. ↑ Lourim, Jake (March 22, 2018). "Donovan Mitchell has been a star on the court and now in a documentary series". Louisville Courier Journal. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  36. ↑ Brown, Sierra (April 3, 2018). "Donovan Mitchell Gets A 'Fresh Cut' In New Web Series". vibe.com. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  37. ↑ "Exclusive release Rookie on The Rise". vibe.com. May 5, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.