Cavs star Donovan Mitchell has reacted to missing out on the All-NBA First Team after the three All-NBA teams were released on Wednesday evening.
Mitchell was named as a guard on the All-NBA Second Team alongside Stephen Curry, with the two being outvoted for a spot on the First Team by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic – as many predicted.
Soon after the teams were released, Mitchell took to Twitter and posted a short but message which made clear his displeasure at the selections.
FOH lol
— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) May 10, 2023
If you're unfamiliar with the meaning of the acronym FOH, I won't repeat it here, but I assure you, it's not one which is typically used to indicate overwhelming agreement.
Donovan Mitchell did have a brilliant first season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, averaging a career-high 28.3 points per game on a career-high 48.4% shooting from the field, while also knocking down 38.6% of his threes – which was, as you may have guessed, also a career-high. He also averaged 4.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists as he led his Cavs to the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
There's no doubting, however, that Mitchell had some stiff competition for spots on the All-NBA First Team. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had an incredible breakout year, developing from a talented young player to an out-and-out star of the game. He averaged a huge 31.4 points per game on 51.0% shooting, alongside 4.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists.
Luka Doncic, meanwhile, continued on the road to becoming one of the most statistically dominant players in NBA history, taking the already huge numbers from the first four seasons of his career to another level. As the sole star on the Dallas Mavericks for much of the season, he averaged 32.4 points on 49.6% shooting per game, as well as 8.6 rebounds and 8.0 assists.
It's not uncommon for both the media and players to question so-called snubs for awards such as this, but that questioning is not always accompanied by a reason why another player shouldn't have been rewarded for their own exploits. Mitchell undoubtedly had a terrific season, and as the voting shows could easily have been selected for the All-NBA First Team – he ended with 349 votes compared to Doncic's 403 and Gilgeous-Alexander's 407. However, they each had superb seasons of their own, and while Mitchell's frustration is understandable, you'd be hard-pressed to justify removing either of the First Team guards from their spots.
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