Donovan Mitchell’s career season continues, as he’s named All-Star starter

Well, chalk up another big-time moment of the career of Donovan Mitchell, as it was announced on Thursday that Mitchell will be a starter at the upcoming NBA All-Star Game in Utah. It will be Mitchell‘s fourth appearance in an All-Star game and his first as a starter.

The All-Star starter selections are determined by the fans of the NBA, media members, and NBA players. The biggest percentage of votes are from the fans though, at 50 percent, so it is somewhat of a popularity contest; players and a media panel account for 25 percent each.

Donovan Mitchell’s career year in his first season with the Cavs continues with this distinction.

Mitchell’s popularity has certainly grown this past season as he’s been one of the key talking points in the NBA since the start of the 2022-23 campaign. He’s averaging close to 29 points a game this season, which is the best mark of his career. He had the highlight of his season in terms of points when he scored a whopping 71 in a victory over the Chicago Bulls on Jan. 2. Those types of big-time moments will get you noticed not only by Cavs fans but by NBA fans in general.

Not since LeBron James was in town back in 2018 has a Cleveland player been announced as an NBA All-Star starter, so it is a big deal that Mitchell gets to start, granted that it is based largely in popularity among fans. In that regard there were two players, including Kyrie Irving and Zion Williamson, who made the team as starters, but neither has had not had much of a great season so far. Name recognition goes a long way in the NBA.

Speaking of name recognition, James will be a starter along with his former nemesis Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors. Those two battled it out for years when the Cavs took on the Warriors in multiple NBA championship series.

Back to Mitchell and his amazing season, and this latest accomplishment. It really is icing on the cake to this point of the year that he has been named a starter in this big showcase game. He continues to lead the Cavaliers, not only in points averaged per game, but also just simply in his leadership role that he’s taken on, since he arrived here from the Utah Jazz in a trade this offseason.

The comparisons between him and the former Cavalier great LeBron James cannot be overlooked. They are completely different players in their physicality and in their main talents as ball players, but what they’ve both done for the Cavaliers and what Mitchell continues to do for them this season is tremendous.