Why Donovan Mitchell ‘Expected’ NBA All-Star Starter Offense
Unlike last year, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell will not be a 2026 NBA All-Star starter in Los Angeles. The league announced the starting fives for both the Eastern and Western Conferences on Monday afternoon, with a six-pointer and two starters a notable omission. Focused on facing the Oklahoma City Thunder at Rocket Arena, Mitchell preferred not to get the news before the game.
“I didn’t know what happened, but you can guess because nobody said anything,” Mitchell said after the game following the Cavs’ loss on Monday. “Usually, they’d say something during the game, so one time (I didn’t hear it) I said, ‘Okay, it is what it is.’ To be honest, I kind of expected it. The guys who have been named, their record is better than ours, so of course you reward that.”
The East announced three first-time starters, as Tyrese Maxey, Jalen Brown and Cade Cunningham joined Jalen Brunson and Giannis Antetokounmpo to represent the conference.
“I definitely want to be a starter,” Mitchell said. “But you realize, at the end of the day, (if) we’re winning games, everybody gets rewarded. We haven’t always won games as much as we’d like to, and that’s the number one thing. Everything else comes with that.”
Zapad welcomes Viktor Vembanyama to the first league club, along with veterans Steph Curry, Shai Gildzhi-Alexander, Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic.
Mitchell has started in the All-Star Game in two of the past three seasons, but will end up coming off the bench in this year’s game. He is they have an amazing campaign individuallyaveraged 29.0 points, 5.7 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 34 minutes per game. It was the most efficient shooting season of his career, knocking down 48.5% of his field goals and 38.4% of his three-point attempts.
And even though it’s 24-20 The Cavs weren’t exactly at their best in the first half since the 82-game marathon, Mitchell has only lifted his teammates and stepped up his game when they needed it most.
2026-01-20 05:23:00
