Donovan Mitchell is the perfect leader for the next Cleveland Cavaliers era

Small market teams in any sport rarely have the opportunity to build a historic era worth remembering. For the Cleveland Cavaliers, it was assumed that after LeBron James’ second exit that the team would experience a long draught of winning.

Through creative, timely moves by the front office led by Koby Altman, the Cavaliers have brought the next great Cavalier to The Land – athletic juggernaut Donovan Mitchell.

While Mitchell’s fit with the Cavs was displayed all regular season, after Cleveland’s Game 1 loss to the New York Knicks on Saturday showcased another display of Mitchell’s leadership mentality. In the postgame interview, Donovan Mitchell masterfully recognized his own blame in the loss, citing four specific plays that were poor decisions on his end. Further, he recognized pain points in which his teammates could have performed at a higher level.

A leader that always looks to improve their own performance sets an example on and off the court, inspiring his teammates to do the same. Many Cavs players need to improve their play if they hope to have a deep postseason run this year. With Mitchell at the helm, his attitude for constant improvement and determination offers this squad the leadership to go forward and resolve their weaknesses.

Mitchell is the perfect leader for this new era of Cavs basketball.

Going beyond his words, Donovan Mitchell continues to lead the charge for the emerging Cleveland Cavaliers through his hustle and activity during games. In the second quarter of Game 1 versus the Knicks, Mitchell earned his Spida nickname as he leaped over the sideline booth to save a long rebound shot. Sadly, though, this type of play did not lead to a win and may be forgotten in time. For now, however, this play shows the type of mentality that is needed within every Cavalier that suits up to play, to echo sentiment from Ashley Bastock of Cleveland.com.

"“The fact that the hustle play came from their All-Star, the player they executed a blockbuster trade for last summer, was just the icing on the cake.”"

Going down in the first game of a playoff series in which you have home court advantage is far from ideal. In many regards, it is unacceptable. The Cavaliers fought all season for this advantage, and watching it fall away defeats the hopes for many Cleveland faithful.

These plays by Mitchell, though, demonstrate that games will never be lost by an entire lack of effort or heart. Cleveland’s lack of postseason experience led to a difficult loss, but this hustle and active leadership will propel the squad forward into the next game. Expect a fired up, determined Cavaliers team going into the rest of the series, led by the former Louisville guard in Donovan Mitchell.

The unrelenting desire to win Mitchell shows needs to spread to the rest of Cleveland’s team.