Jazz's Donovan Mitchell Talks Worry over Being 'One-Year Hit', Mike Conley, More
Donovan Mitchell took the NBA by storm in his first year, emerging as a Rookie of the Year candidate and a superstar-in-the-making after the Utah Jazz selected him with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft. But Mitchell didn't quite take the next step in his sophomore season, or at least not by his own standards.
In a wide-ranging conversation with Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium that also covered new teammate Mike Conley, the team's championship aspirations and his teammates in general, Mitchell said he had some doubts about himself last season:
"The biggest thing that I was wondering last year: Was I just a one-year hit and out? Was I peaking too soon? I came in as a surprise and I had a real high and I never came into a season with an X on my back. Not in high school, not in college. I had never been the guy before. That was one thing for me to learn. I had to understand: PG [Paul George] isn't just guarding you in the fourth quarter. He's guarding you the whole game. Klay [Thompson], Kawhi [Leonard], these guys are guarding you the whole game."
Mitchell also talked about his pairing with Conley, whom the team acquired to replace point guard Ricky Rubio in a trade this offseason.
"Mike is so easy to get along with, and for me it's continuing to bond. He's a guy who's easy to bond with, and basketball was really second in our workouts. We were trying to figure out who we were. He had left Memphis, and he was a star there and he's taught me a lot about that experience. We're still figuring each other out, but we're really bonded and it's pretty dope having a lead guard who wants to make the game easier for me."
The new-look Jazz have started well, going 3-1. While Conley's numbers aren't spectacular (7.8 PPG, 4.3 APG), he's making life for Mitchell easier, allowing him to focus less on playmaking and more on being the team's top scorer. In turn, Mitchell is balling out, averaging 24.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
Offseason signing Bojan Bogdanovic is also thriving in Utah, averaging 23.7 points per game while shooting 53.3 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from three. And the team's starting five of Conley, Mitchell, Bogdanovic, Royce O'Neal and Rudy Gobert has an incredible net rating of 40.0 in three games together, all wins, per NBA.com.
And Mitchell appreciates his teammates' support, through the good times and the rougher patches:
"For me, the biggest thing is my teammates having my back and being able to say: 'We're rolling with you.' It doesn't always go that way, man, because it can get nasty. They've stuck with me through the good, when we beat OKC in the playoffs in my rookie year. But then the bad, with the way I started last season and even how I finished the year in the playoffs. Their belief in me makes my job easier. Without it, I don't know where I'd be."
Part of why his teammates have likely never wavered in their support is Mitchell's humility. Remaining grounded has been a priority for the young star:
"It's about being able to show love. I'm not too good for anybody. There are times where I've seen guys in this league that I even looked up to, that are that and put themselves ahead of people. I wasn't supposed to be here. So now that I am here, I'm not going to act like I should be this other dude. I'm going to continue to be that guy who has been humble, who's been a great teammate. I've been that way my whole life and I don't plan on changing."
In the process, Mitchell has morphed into the star player on a Jazz team with legitimate championship aspirations. Few teams are as balanced, deep and defensively sound. The Jazz may not be as flashy as the two superstar-laden teams in Los Angeles, but they'll be in the conversation in the Western Conference come the postseason.
For Utah, the window is now open.
"I'm ready for us to take that next step," Mitchell said.
