CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell saw me walking toward him in the corner of the Cleveland Cavaliers locker room and flashed a polite grin. I told him it was time for me to write about him.
“Oh boy,” he said.
“What should I write?” I joked.
“You tell me,” he said. “I’ve seen it all.”
Nine years into the NBA, that’s certainly true. Mitchell has seen every trap and pick-and-roll coverage. He was at the center of the COVID-19 pandemic when it first infected the NBA. He navigated hurdles both on and off the court in Utah, experienced his first blockbuster trade when he arrived in Cleveland and promptly dealt with questions about his future while he was still unpacking his bags.
The only thing he hasn’t seen is a championship. That’s what this season was supposed to be about in Cleveland. Instead, Mitchell is enjoying the best season of his career on a team with the league’s highest payroll that is fighting to avoid the Play-In Tournament. Injuries have derailed the first two months, and the organization has already had to declare Kenny Atkinson’s job is safe seven months after he won Coach of the Year. It has been that kind of season.
Mitchell has never averaged 30 points a game in his career, but he’s one of four players doing it this season. His usage rate is the highest since he arrived in Cleveland. He is shooting a career best from 3 (nearly 40 percent in December), and he’s suturing this team together every night while the injuries make guys like Nae’Qwan Tomlin surprisingly productive rotation options.
There are three max contract players on this roster, and a fourth, Jarrett Allen, is earning $20 million this year with $90 million more coming over the next three years. Yet Mitchell acknowledges he’s carrying a heavy burden right now.
He insists he’s fine with it. He loves coming to work every day, and he loves hanging out in this locker room.
This isn’t a matter of whether Mitchell is playing at an MVP level. The question is whether it’s a sustainable way to win a championship? Mitchell’s 27 points led the way in the Cavs’ 141-118 victory Tuesday night over the struggling New Orleans Pelicans. Thursday’s Christmas Day game against the Knicks in New York will bring a much tougher test.
Donovan Mitchell. TOO SMOOTH 🥶 pic.twitter.com/Hh2nHR6U7k
— Cavs Nation (@CavsNationCP) December 24, 2025
“I don’t want him to,” Atkinson said. “I don’t think that’s (sustainable) long-term. Conference finals, Finals, we need more balance. And I do think (we can get it) as we get healthier … as Darius (Garland) starts to get his rhythm and we get guys back. But right now it’s (on him). He’s got to carry us.”
Mitchell should be used to that by now. The bulk of his time here has been spent with four guys standing around waiting for him to bail them out. That began to change last season, but now injuries have forced its return.
The Cavs probably overachieved when they won 64 games last season and then drastically underachieved when they were eliminated in the second round. They embarrassed opponents last year, routinely winning games by 25 or more points. Players have long memories. They remember those blowouts, and they’re hunting the Cavs now that they’re limping a bit this year.
I wrote after last season ended that the Cavs’ best (only?) path to a championship was for Evan Mobley to lead them. There’s a reason why small guards are rarely the best players on championship teams. The grind is too much come May and June. By the time a team reaches the NBA Finals, it’s more a war of attrition than just talent.
After Mobley’s remarkable leap last season, the Cavs seemed to agree there was even more in there. They tried making Mobley the focal point at the start of the season, but it didn’t work. Mobley looked uncomfortable — ineffective, really — in the role of initiator. If this is who he ultimately is, he’s a tremendous NBA All-Star. But he isn’t the No. 1 player on a championship team.
Now it’s nearly New Year’s and the Cavs are back where they started. Mitchell is in command, and everyone else is falling in behind.
They have no choice at this point. This is how they’re built, so this is how they must play. Being a second-apron team drastically limits their options in trade. Garland has little market value given his health status and contract. Allen barely plays in the fourth quarter now when the roster is whole. It’s hard to see how much other teams would value him, given his contract.
A healthy roster would help the Cavs, something they didn’t have in the playoffs the last couple of years. But there comes a point where being injured is just part of who they are.
They were injured in the playoffs two years ago. They were injured in the playoffs last year. Max Strus was injured at the start of last season. Strus is injured again to start this season.
Garland has fought injuries throughout his career, and here we are again. Nobody seems to know when — or if — he will be fully recovered from this lingering toe issue. He was at least able to play in a back-to-back this week for the first time all year. Mobley is out again with a calf strain, an injury Mitchell knows all too well. On and on it goes.
So Mitchell will trudge on, and so will the Cavs. The Pacers were below .500 in January last season and caught fire at the right time. The same could be true of the Cavs this year. It’s the only oxygen in the tank right now in what has otherwise been a frustrating season.
Mitchell is thriving in his age-29 season, and next year is the last he is under the Cavs’ control. The team will have to make decisions about its second-apron status, meaning this could be their last chance at a title run with this group.
Until then, Mitchell will continue to try pulling the sled all the way up the mountain. It hasn’t worked the first eight times his teams have tried. At this point, there’s no other choice.