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Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell earned his All-NBA Second-Team spot

By Chad Porto

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - FEBRUARY 19: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers goes up for a shot against Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks in the 2023 NBA All Star Game between Team Giannis and Team LeBron at Vivint Arena on February 19, 2023 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kyle Terada - Pool/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - FEBRUARY 19: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers goes up for a shot against Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks in the 2023 NBA All Star Game between Team Giannis and Team LeBron at Vivint Arena on February 19, 2023 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kyle Terada - Pool/Getty Images) /
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Donovan Mitchell earned his spot among other elite Cleveland Cavaliers.

Second is nothing to scoff at. The Cleveland Cavaliers have had a solid offseason so far, with Evan Mobley being named to the NBA All-Defense First Team, and now Donovan Mitchell being named to the All-NBA Second Team. Mithcell’s selection earns him a spot alongside Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, LeBron James, and Kyrie Irving as the only other Cavaliers to ever be named to an All-NBA team.

And looking at his season this year, it’s no surprise that he did. He broke the single-season mark for Cavs players with the most three-pointers made (245), even if they weren’t on great efficiency. He put up 13 games where he scored 40 or more, including a 71-point game. His 13 games of 40 or more were the 2nd most by a Cavs player in a single season, right behind James.

Against the NBA, he also finished second for most 40-point games by a player who moved teams in the offseason. Only Wilt Chamberlain had more 40-point games after moving teams. Not only that, but Mitchell is right behind James for the most points averaged in a season for the Cavs.

Despite all that, Mitchell wasn’t happy that he didn’t get first team, tweeting out “FOH lol”. While its unclear what he meant by that, it could be interpreted as “f–k outta here”

Despite Mitchell’s reaction, his placement was well deserved.

Donovan Mitchell did not deserve a first-team spot

It’s hard to say that Mitchell was better than Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jayson Tatum, or Giannis Antetokounmpo. I reserve space for Mitchell to be a Top 10 NBA player, maybe even a Top 7, but man, top five?

Over a guy like Jokic, who didn’t make the first team?

The only person in the world that thinks Mitchell is a Top 5 player over Jokic is Mark Jackson and NBA Twitter is coming for his head for not having Jokic as a Top 5 MVP Candidate. While I think Mitchell was a Top 5 MVP candidate, I don’t think he was over Jokic. Maybe over someone like Jayson Tatum but not over Jokic, or Embiid.

Based on the way the first and second team placements went out, it looks like Mitchell’s sixth-place finish among the MVP candidates was fair.

Mitchell isn’t a Top 5 player in the NBA, yet.

But let’s see what he can do next year.

Next. 3 reasons why the Cleveland Cavaliers fell apart against the New York Knicks. dark

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