Utah Jazz: Donovan Mitchell is proving he can be a No. 1 on a championship team

Donovan Mitchell is proving he can be a worthy No. 1 on a championship team. 

Year after year, Donovan Mitchell continues to grow and is blossoming into a perennial, all-around leader for the Utah Jazz. The fourth-year star has put his team in championship contention as they sit at the No. 1 seed in the NBA through the first half of the 2020-21 campaign.

No matter how much others want to tear at him, one thing is clear – he’s on his way to superstar status in the NBA.

The aspect that stands out about Donovan Mitchell is that he shows to channel his inner-Kobe during the game. Having the Mamba Mentality to dominate against other teams is a big reason why fans are always excited to watch him play. Many players in year four are still figuring out how to grow into their games. For Mitchell, he’s already figured things out and continues to grow.

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Since his rookie season, Mitchell has been compared to many past wing players. But the one player that his game resembles the most is Miami Heat legend, Dwyane Wade. Mitchell provides a lot of energy on the floor for his teammates. His explosiveness and athleticism give him an advantage against defenders as he provides phenomenal scoring outbursts.

Unlike Wade, Mitchell shows a great perimeter shot from all levels of the floor, allowing him to play inside and out on offense. The ability to be dangerous from all levels has made Mitchell a dangerous scorer in today’s NBA.

This season, Mitchell is averaging 24.5 points per game on 42 percent shooting from the field. He continues to ascend as the Jazz’s franchise star and the rest of the team follows. Although scoring continues to be a factor in his game, Mitchell has made an effort to make his teammates better this season and allow them to be involved on the floor.

Mitchell’s unselfish play has allowed players like Rudy Gobert, Jordan Clarkson, Mike Conley, and others to have great individual seasons for themselves. The big key for Utah’s great start is Mitchell trusting his teammates to contribute behind him. As the Jazz lack a second-star offensive player, the role players of Utah have stepped in tremendously.

The Jazz is 15-2 since this awkward exchange between Shaq and Mitchell on TNT:

The future of Mitchell continues to be bright. As he sits in MVP conversations this season, his name reigns in the same conversation as LeBron James, Joel Embiid, James Harden, and others. It seems as if Shaq’s comments about Mitchell not having what it takes possibly lit a fire and motivated him to play harder.

Throughout his career, Mitchell has shown to never cheat the game and continue to find other areas in his game to improve upon. To show the amount of emergence that he has thus far, Donovan Mitchell can only ascend from here on out.

The first-round series in 2018 against the Oklahoma City Thunder was an introduction to how Mitchell can evolve as a player. Then, he continued his strong efforts by keeping the Utah Jazz afloat in the Western Conference.

The performances that he has put on through the years have been spectacular to watch. Every time he matches up against a high-caliber player, it shows to bring the best out of Mitchell. As Donovan Mitchell continues to develop through the years, his game may transition to a superstar level.