Cavs Insider

NBA Legend Reveals Strong Advice For Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell

Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell has received a strong assessment from NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal.
Matthew Schmidt|
Apr 22, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) reacts in the fourth quarter against the Orlando Magic during game two of the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 22, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) reacts in the fourth quarter against the Orlando Magic during game two of the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports | David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

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Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell is a heck of a player. He is a five-time All-Star, a bona fide scorer and is the driving force behind the Cavaliers' turnaround the past couple of years.

But is Mitchell leaving some things on the table?

NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal thinks so.

During an appearance on The Draymond Green Show, O'Neal spoke about Mitchell and whether or not he believes the 27-year-old should be considered a superstar.

“He’s close,” O'Neal said. “There’s a fine line between a star and a superstar, he’s close. I would like to see him dominate more. Any guy that can put up numbers anytime he wants shows me that you’re a puppy, but you can be trained to be a mean dog.”

Cleveland acquired Mitchell in a blockbuster trade with the Utah Jazz in September 2022.

Last season, the Louisville product averaged 26.6 points, 6.1 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 1.8 steals over 35.3 minutes per game while shooting 46.2 percent from the floor, 36.8 percent from three-point range and 86.5 percent from the free-throw line.

Mitchell wasn't quite as good last year as he was during his debut campaign with the Cavs, when he registered 28.3 points a night while posting a true-shooting percentage of 61.4 percent. Both of those marks represent career highs.

One glaring thing missing from Mitchell's resume is playoff success.

Since entering the NBA in 2017, Mitchell has never made it past the second round of the postseason. That trend continued this past spring, as Mitchell and the Cavaliers fell to the Boston Celtics in Round 2 (although Mitchell was injured for a chunk of the series).

We'll see if Mitchell can carve out a deeper playoff run in Cleveland next season.

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Matthew Schmidt
MATTHEW SCHMIDT

Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.

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