Donovan Mitchell rightfully secures spot on hot new NBA list

It might be a little surreal to take a step back and realize the calendar date is closer to 2030 than it is to 2020 at this point. Having passed the midway point of the decade, theScore decided to release three NBA All-Half-Decade teams to celebrate. Donovan Mitchell secured a spot among them.

Mitchell was featured on the All-Half-Decade third team. theScore chose to go position-less with their lineups, which was a good thing considering the amount of guards that flooded that third team.

The Cleveland Cavaliers star joined Devin Booker, Tyrese Haliburton, and Anthony Edwards in occpuying four of the five spots. One big man got some love here too, with Domantas Sabonis the lone frontcourt player on this specific squad.

There were a handful of elite players towering over these five in the pecking order. Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Stephen Curry, and Joel Embiid made up the first team. Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Jimmy Butler were featured on the second.

Mitchell's placement among NBA's best players of the 2020s is perfect

Mitchell's five All-Star appearances and two All-NBA selections make him an easy inclusion among the best players from the first half of this decade. The production and consistency from the explosive guard is impossible to ignore.

Over the last five years, Mitchell has averaged 26.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. The Cavaliers, and formerly Utah Jazz, guard has shot 45.6 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from beyond the arc during that time.

Joseph Casciaro, author of the All-Half-Decade teams, painted a clear picture over what lands Mitchell his well-deserved spot.

Casciaro wrote, "Don't let his postseason flameouts prevent you from appreciating Mitchell's excellence. He's been a driver of elite offenses for almost his entire career; his combination of shooting, driving, and shot-creation is a devastating mix, whether in Utah or Cleveland."

It is just as easy to make Mitchell's case for being here as it is to make the argument for not moving him anywhere higher. The 10 names on the first two teams are difficult to displace.

Perhaps there is a case to be made against Butler, if one were to really search it out. However, as alluded to by Casciaro, the disparity in playoff success between the two would be nearly impossible to discount.

There is a chance that when 2025-26 comes to a close, a strong playoff run for the Cavaliers can help Mitchell garner some extra attention for the All-Decade teams that will follow in a few years. Cleveland will certainly have their needed opening in the Eastern Conference.