Jaylon Tyson Apologizes to LeBron After Viral Video Saying Cleveland 'Is Donovan Mitchell City Now'
Jaylon Tyson walked back his comments declaring Cleveland to be Donovan Mitchell's city after the Cavaliers' 129-99 victory over LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
As Mitchell was being interviewed on the court by ESPN's Jorge Sedano, Tyson stepped in to say Cleveland is "Donovan Mitchell city now."
Speaking to reporters in his postgame press conference, Tyson apologized if it seemed like he was trying to diminish James' accomplishments in Cleveland and took "personal responsibility" if that's how it came off:
"There was no disrespect there. I didn't want to disrespect or step on nobody's toes. That's one of the greatest players to ever play the game. Obviously, I was a Cavs fan growing up because of [James]. I didn't want to take away [from] him, but I just wanted to give Don his flowers. That was my biggest goal in it. And if I offended anybody or anybody got mad about it, I'm sorry. I take personal responsibility, but I just wanted to give the man his flowers because we want to do the same thing that Bron and them did here. We want to do that with him as our leader."
Much of the focus early on was about James returning to Cleveland for perhaps the final time in his career. The Cavs played a tribute video before tipoff of his highlights from the 2015-16 season to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their championship team.
The game turned into a one-sided affair with the Cavs cruising to a 30 point victory. James struggled with just 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting. Mitchell and Tyson combined for 45 points in the win.
There almost certainly wasn't any ill intent behind Tyson's comments, but it was an odd thing to do on a night when the franchise was honoring the most important player in its history.
It's also possible the excitement of the moment got the better of Tyson. He is having a breakout season after being a first-round pick in 2024, averaging 13.8 points on 46.4 percent three-point shooting in 44 games.
The Cavs are playing their best basketball of the season. They have now won a season-high five straight games and have moved into a tie for fourth place in the Eastern Conference with the Toronto Raptors.
