Donovan Mitchell Calls Out 'BS' James Harden Narratives Amid Cavs Star's Pursuit of NBA Title

Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell fired back at the narratives surrounding teammate James Harden's lack of a championship heading into the 2026-27 season.

"I just truly believe the only reason why he's not talked about in that room is because of the championship conversation," Mitchell told reporters. "I've always known it being around him, but when you're his teammate I think it brings it to a whole different level. I said that last playoffs. Seeing him in camp, seeing his influence on the group, seeing his conversations, seeing his passion behind winning, passion behind intention and trying to be the best of what he does, really puts in perspective how BS a lot of the narratives are and how you really don't truly understand something until you see it on a daily basis."

Harden's résumé is impressive, as he's racked up 11 All-Star nods, eight All-NBA selections, three scoring titles and an MVP award throughout his career.

The 37-year-old sits at No. 9 on the NBA's all-time scoring list and holds the No. 12 spot on the league's all-time assists leaderboard.

Still, a championship has eluded Harden throughout his 17 seasons in the association.

It's worth noting that he's fallen short of a title against plenty of star-studded teams, losing the NBA Finals as a sixth man on the Oklahoma City Thunder against a Miami Heat squad that boasted LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in 2012.

Harden's Houston Rockets teams failed to overcome Golden State Warriors squads featuring Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green on several occasions in the late 2010s as well.

Harden also hasn't been as productive in the playoffs despite his regular-season success, though.

He owns a career average of 24.0 points per game on 43.9/36.4/86.3 shooting splits in the regular season, which drops to 22.2 points on a nightly basis while shooting 42.4 percent from the field and 33.7 percent from behind the arc in the postseason.

Over Harden's last five playoff runs, he's recorded just 19.4 points per game on 41.3 percent shooting.

Now, he's looking to help Mitchell and the Cavs remain a threat in the East during their 2026-27 campaign after advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals last season.