Why Donovan Mitchell will be the only NBA All-Star for the Cavs this season

Cleveland Cavaliers sixfold All-Star running back Donovan Mitchell got a lot of love in fans’ first return to NBA All-Star voting in 2026. In an official league announcement Monday afternoon, Mitchell was listed as fifth in the Eastern Conference with 851,155 votes.

Behind only Giannis Antetokounmpo, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brunson and Cade Cunningham, he earned high praise from all NBA players. That’s great news for the man known as Speed, and deservedly so. In 30 games, Mitchell averaged a career-high 30.2 points per game on 49.7% from the field and 39.0% from three, both personal bests.

After Cleveland’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers last month, Mitchell agreed with reporters that he’s playing the most complete basketball of his career and “seeing things differently” from an individual perspective. He could undoubtedly compete for the points title if that was at the top of his priority list; however, he wants to see his team succeed above all else.

“It’s more like, what do we need as opposed to what I could do?” Mitchell said on November 8. “I feel like my role is a little bit different than the guys that are (going for that accolade). Obviously I’m scoring at a high level, but that’s not what we need to get to that end point.”

“At the end of the day, what does that accomplish for the group? I’m all about sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice. Does that mean I’m not talked about in the same light as some people? Sure, but it’s a sacrifice. But at the end of the day, you win championships, the whole discussion has changed to A. I’m not D. D. is changing here. Garland) How it was JA (Jarrett Allen) and Mako, that’s what it takes for me.

While it’s nice to see him in the MVP spotlight and high on the All-Star board, the Cavs have relied on Mitchell too much this season. But by the same token, it was a necessity given the injury list, lineup inconsistencies and poor shooting efforts. Before the guys started to come back in the last couple of weeks, Cleveland’s head coach Kenny Atkinson relayed just how demanding those “superhero” performances were from Mitchell. to get results.

With a little mistake of their own, the Wine and Gold sit in the middle of the pack at 17-16 in the competitive East. If the postseason started now, the team would be watching a Play-In tournament game on the road. That’s a far cry from just a year ago, when the Cavs had a league-best 27-4 record and sent three All-Stars to Indiana.

Garland and Mobley were the two who followed Mitchell’s side into Gainbridge Fieldhouse, boasting stellar comeback seasons and offensive development under Atkinson’s revamped system. It hasn’t been easy for either in 2025, as both have faced injury problems and erratic rhythm as a result.

To this point, Garland has played in 17 total games, but it’s actually 16, since he had to sit out the Miami game in the first week of action after surgery. Last week was pretty promising, and his numbers are starting to return to normal as a result. Still, he’s playing catch-up behind the 8-ball as far as sample size goes, and Maxey, Brunson, Cunningham and Jaylen Brown have those spots at lock.

Mobley was handed the car keys early in the year and struggled before the Cavs started putting him in better positions to succeed. When he returned to action, he suffered a calf strain and missed five games. The current Defensive Player of the Year averages look the same as last year, with lower percentages. There is too much competition at forward in the East, especially with Jaylen Johnson, Michael Porter Jr. and Brandon Ingram playing the way they are.

Allen wasn’t an All-Star in 2024, but he was in 2022, along with Garland, when the event took place in Cleveland. Since the second game of the season in Brooklyn, he has been dealing with a broken ring finger on his left finger, followed by a sprained finger on his right hand. As a result, he didn’t jump or score as consistently.

Mitchell, Garland, Mobley and Allen logged 64 minutes playing togetherand their net rating is plus-24.1 points per 100 possessions. Without the rest of the Core Four on the floor, Mitchell played 137 minutes of basketball, and Cleveland has a plus-6.6 NET.

The only member of the Cavs we will see in Indianapolis is Mitchell, and hopefully by then the team will have self-corrected to the point where we forget about the first two months.