Utah Jazz: Donovan Mitchell represents a bright future for Utah

The former Louisville standout is having an outstanding season, leading all NBA rookies in scoring with 20 points per game and he represents a bright future of the Utah Jazz

After being selected 13th overall in the 2017 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz, there’s no one who could have predicted that Donovan Mitchell would be one of the most electric rookies in the NBA right now.

There were several other notable names like Lonzo Ball, Markelle Fultz, and Lauri Markkanen who were selected above him. Mitchell wasn’t even a one and done player. He was drafted as a sophomore out of a successful Louisville program. a heavy amount of the 12 players drafted before him were freshmen.

Fast forward to now, Mitchell is the building block for Utah. He is carrying the Jazz offensively this season and because of him, they currently sit in playoff contention. Mitchell is an elite athlete, evident by his breathtaking performance on his way to winning the Slam Dunk competition at All-Star weekend in Los Angeles last month.

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Mitchell is the first Western conference player to win Rookie of the month for three consecutive months, (December, January, February) since Karl-Anthony Towns accomplished the same feat in 2015-16. Ben Simmons is Mitchell’s biggest competition for the Rookie of the year award as of right now.

Simmons is averaging about four points less per game than Mitchell, but the 76ers star is averaging better numbers when it comes to assists and rebounds. Regardless, I do think Mitchell has a chance to win the award because he has the ability to score from all over the floor.

He’s a threat from all over the court

Mitchell is very good at getting inside to the rim, but he also loves to take shots from downtown. The 21-year old is attempting seven 3’s per game this season for a 33.8 percent from the 3-point line. That’s not an outstanding percentage but considering how many shots he takes on a game to game basis from downtown it’s still impressive.

Mitchell has a versatile 3-point game. What I mean by this is that he can hit three’s from a stationary position, or on the catch and shoot, or pulling up. The one he tends to like the most is when he pulls up or uses a cross-over and step back. The most entertaining part of his game that really shows his athleticism and quickness is when he drives into the paint.

He’s shooting 43 percent from the field this season. Being just 6-foot-3, Mitchell is able to fly by bigs in the paint because he’s not huge.

The 21-year-old is averaging just 3.6 assists per game this year, but he does make the players around him better by creating open lanes. He’s no slouch on defense either. Mitchell has a defensive rating of 101.3 this season. This is where his athleticism comes into play once again. Because of his quickness and cat-like instincts, he is very good at creating turnovers and putting constant pressure on opponents.

Bright future for Mitchell

Mitchell has had the opportunity to pretty much run the Utah Jazz this year after the departure of Gordon Hayward last season. He has several talented players around him like Rudy Gobert, Joe Ingles, and Ricky Rubio, but he has proved that he’s the go-to guy in Utah. Mitchell is the up and coming star on this team, and he is a definite reason they have the opportunity to make the playoffs this year.

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Ben Simmons will probably win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award, but I do believe Donovan Mitchell should be considered as well. Simmons has a better line all across the board, but Mitchell is exceeding expectations considering he wasn’t even drafted in the top 10 of last year’s draft.

The sky is the limit for Donovan Mitchell. He’s putting up these type of numbers as a rookie, so don’t be surprised to see him be an All-Star for many years to come in the NBA.

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