Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star Donovan Mitchell has as much a right as any elite player to feel disrespected about not being a top-five NBA MVP candidate this season.
Mitchell has led the Cavaliers to a league-leading 55-10 record this year. Despite being one of the most gifted scorers in the league, the Louisville product has dialed back from producing volume stats for the betterment of his team, to much avail. Mitchell currently boasts 24.2 points and 4.8 assists per game on 38.4 percent shooting from three-point range.
Thus, he’s fallen behind players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder), Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets), and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) in the MVP race. He currently ranks No. 7 on NBA.com’s latest MVP ladder.
As a result, the 28-year-old recently sounded off on where he stands in the eyes of the media in the quest for the league’s top individual honor:
”Mitchell’s attitude and willingness to sacrifice his stats for the betterment of this team are part of his MVP case, but he knows the voters (like me, probably) generally tend to consider a player’s statistical impact on winning, compared to teammates, when deciding the league’s MVP,” The Athletic’s Joe Vardon reported (h/t Bleacher Report’s Paul Kasabian).
Gilgeous-Alexander leads the league in scoring with 32.7 PPG for the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder (53-12). Jokic averages a triple-double with 28.9 PPG for the contending Nuggets. Antetokounmpo is on track to be the first player since Houston Rockets legend Moses Malone to average at least 30 points and 12 rebounds in a season, which hasn’t been done in 43 years.
The aforementioned superstars have combined statistical excellence with winning. While that strengthens their cases, Mitchell’s numbers are MVP-worthy in and of themselves, while his Cavaliers have been the most impressive team on the campaign. Cleveland has had three winning streaks of 12 or more games. They’re also 23-5 when he’s scored 25-plus.
Taking that into account, Mitchell has been disrespected in the MVP discussion all season long. His name has rarely surfaced among the front runners. He’s now spoken his peace. Perhaps it will catch the attention of some voters as the campaign draws to a close.
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