Inside Donovan Mitchell’s Case for Second Best Cavs Player Ever

A song written by local Jazz fan/rapper Zaven in 2018 said it all. “Rookie of the Year. He’s finally here. It’s Donovan Mitchell.” From the very first days he got to the league, #45 has been turning heads.

A surprising late-lottery selection, he took almost no time at all to begin the wowing.

A playoff appearance in Utah right off the bat, Mitchell got it going. When he was acquired by the Cavs six days before his 26th birthday, everything was about to change.

And now today, on his actual 30th birthday (Sept. 7), let’s talk about Mitchell’s case for being the second-best Cavalier of all-time.

He’s A Winning Player

Since Donovan Mitchell arrived in Cleveland, the Cavs have gone 180-84 with him in the lineup. They have made it past round one three years in a row, including a special ECF berth in 2026. While they did get swept, the team was able to get farther than they had without LeBron James since qualifying for the third round back in 1992.

It was just two years ago that on a night where nobody had it going, Mitchell put the team on his back and dropped 50 against the Orlando Magic. They still fell short, but ultimately handled their business in Game 7 to clinch a series victory.

The Louisville product averaged right around 28 points per game last year, putting him back to the same average as his debut season with the team. Nearly six assists per game and a 48% shooting clip at a high efficiency is highly impressive for a small guard. There aren’t many folks who can slow Mitchell.

His Rankings On Historic Cavs Leaderboards

Donovan Mitchell trails only Kevin Love, LeBron James, and Darius Garland in made 3’s as of right now. But he’s tracking to move into #2 by season’s end. He is #9 in two-point field goal percentage, higher than any volume guard in the team’s history.

When you get to scoring, he ranks second at 26.7 per night for his time there. Fifth in steals per game at 1.5 as Spida has continued to wreak havoc on the passing lanes. Second in PER at 22.2, just ahead of Jarrett Allen (who arrived 1.5 seasons earlier).

Let’s not forget that Mitchell has the team-record with 71 points in a game. LeBron has most of the #1 spots on the franchise leaderboards, but there comes Mitchell right in behind. He’ll make a lot more headway in year five.

He’s Electric

That 71-point game that Donovan Mitchell had, 55 of them came after the break. 24 in the third quarter, 18 in the fourth, and another 13 in overtime. The missed free-throw into a quick tying basket gave him the team franchise record for points in a game. What a time to do it.

There have been plenty of crunch-time threes and buckets from Mitchell, most notably his game-winning jumper against the Bucks a few seasons ago. He doesn’t yet have the longevity of Mark Price or Brad Daugherty. Zydrunas Ilgauskas spent nearly his entire career in Cleveland, while Kevin Love was also around for about a decade.

Kyrie Irving hit THE SHOT to give the Cavs their title. But, Mitchell has a real case to be the second-best Cav ever. By the time the 2028-29 season is over, it could be set in stone.

Mitchell just needs to do a bit more in the uniform for a number of games. But he’s tracking to be the second best in franchise history. It’s impossible to pass #23.

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