Donovan Mitchell
| No. 45 – Utah Jazz | |
|---|---|
| Position | Shooting guard |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | September 7, 1996 Elmsford, New York[1] |
| 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: 1st round, 13th overall pick |
| 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 | |
Donovan 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.
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. Donovan was born and raised in Elmsford, New York and attended Greenwich Country Day School in Greenwich, Connecticut.[1] Mitchell played his AAU basketball for The City and Riverside Hawks programs based out of New York City.[2]
High school career
Mitchell attended Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut for his sophomore year of high school[3] before transferring to Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire for his junior and senior years.[4] 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.[5][6] He committed to the University of Louisville to play college basketball.[7]
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. As a freshman at Louisville, in Kentucky, Mitchell averaged 7.4 points, 1.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game.[8] 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.[9] He was named to the First Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference.[10] After the season, he entered the 2017 NBA draft, but did not immediately hire an agent.[11][12]
College statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Louisville | 31 | 5 | 19.1 | .442 | .250 | .754 | 3.4 | 1.7 | .8 | .1 | 7.4 |
| 2016–17 | Louisville | 34 | 33 | 32.3 | .408 | .354 | .806 | 4.9 | 2.7 | 2.1 | .5 | 15.6 |
| Career | 65 | 38 | 26.0 | .418 | .329 | .788 | 4.1 | 2.2 | 1.5 | .3 | 11.7 | |
Professional career
Utah Jazz (2017–present)
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. On July 5, 2017, Mitchell signed a four-year rookie scale contract with the Jazz. On July 11th, 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. In his NBA debut on October 18, 2017, Mitchell registered 10 points and 4 assists against the Denver Nuggets. 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.[13] He surpassed Darrell Griffith's team-record 38 in 1981.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16] 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.[17] On February 2, 2018 Donovan recorded his second 40 point game of his rookie season against the Phoenix Suns. 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.[18] 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 ever rookie to win the contest ever since Kobe Bryant. 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.[19]
References
- ^ a b 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
- ^ Berman, Marc (7 June 2017). "Mets executive's son is high on the Knicks' draft radar". New York Post. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ "DONOVAN MITCHELL". 247sports.com. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ Jones, Steve (18 January 2015). "Donovan Mitchell preps for U of L career". Springfield, Mass: The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ Greer, Jeff (26 October 2016). "Donovan Mitchell: Baseball star?". cincinnati.com. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Four-star guard Donovan Mitchell commits to Louisville". si.com. Sports Illustrated. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ Greer, Jeff (10 November 2016). "Is Donovan Mitchell Cards' next star?". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Press Release (2017-03-05). "ACC Announces All-Conference Team, Postseason Awards, All-ACC Teams". theacc.com. Retrieved 2016-03-05.
- ^ Goodman, Jeff (22 March 2017). "Donovan Mitchell to enter draft, but may return to Louisville". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ Greer, Jeff (22 March 2017). "Mitchell declares for NBA draft, won't hire agent". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ "NBA rookie Donovan Mitchell scores 41 points as Jazz beat Pelicans". news.com.au. 2 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Donovan Mitchell goes for career-high 41 in Jazz victory". ESPN.com. December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
- ^ "Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum, Utah Jazz's Donovan Mitchell named Kia Rookies of Month". NBA.com. January 4, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ^ Powell, Shaun (January 24, 2018). "League taking note of Donovan Mitchell's impressive rookie campaign". NBA.com. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "Utah Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell to replace Aaron Gordon in 2018 Verizon Slam Dunk". NBA.com. February 5, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- ^ "76ers' Ben Simmons, Jazz's Donovan Mitchell named Kia Rookies of Month for February". NBA.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.