Cleveland Cavaliers superstar Donovan Mitchell was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the stretch of games between Nov. 17 and 23. The Cavs were 3-1 in that span, in no small part due to Mitchell’s
outstanding play. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder won the award in the Western Conference.
The reigning All-NBA first team guard averaged 31.8 points (second-highest in the East in that span), 6.3 rebounds, and five assists per game in the four contests last week. He also shot better than 43% from three-point land and averaged more than a steal per game, an underrated aspect of Mitchell’s skillset. In fact, last season Mitchell finished with just two fewer swipes than Amen Thompson, who is very highly regarded across the league for his defense.
This is the ninth instance of Mitchell winning a conference player of the week award, and his sixth with Cleveland. He now has the second-most Player of the Week honors in Cavs history, though he has a long way to go to take the top spot from LeBron James, who has won 42 times.
The Cavs rely on Mitchell for offense anyway, but even more so with the revolving door of lineups that Kenny Atkinson has had to roll out. Injuries to Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen have left the Cavs without two of their best players on random nights, with the former being carefully managed as he recovers from a toe injury. Allen has dealt with a broken finger since earlier in the season.
So far, Mitchell has been having yet another career season. He is one of four players in the league averaging 30 points, five rebounds, and five assists per game – joining Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Not too bad of company to be in.
