Donovan Mitchell didn't take long to witness what it's like to be a star in the NBA, quickly realizing he was now the biggest paragraph in the scouting report for opposing teams. The Utah Jazz shooting guard went from a glowing rookie campaign that saw him compete for the Rookie of the Year award with Ben Simmons, to finding out he no longer had the same openings to score or help his team to a win.
“It was different,” Mitchell told Jonathan Abrams of B/R Magazine. “Especially on offense, the opponent's top defender, having to guard you. So now it's Klay Thompson. It's Paul George, It's Kawhi [Leonard], it's Patty Bev. … Now you're the priority. That's not like they're guarding you when you have a little hot streak. Now you're the target. It was a little different. I got to take a step back and figure it out. The stuff that works on the other guys, it's not going to work on those first-tier defenders. I had to get back and just slow down and just figure stuff out.”
Mitchell seemed to have hit what most refer to as the “sophomore slump” — something a lot harder to shake than the rookie wall. The Louisville standout was no longer a fortunate opportunist, but now a star player with a target on his back.
“They can tell you, ‘Look, this is how they're going to do it,” said Mitchell. “But I'm a person that you just have to go out there and experience it and do it. Because that's how I am. I got to go through it and physically go through it, so it was unsettling at first. That was the fastest my life has ever moved. … And I'm glad I did, because it just enabled me to learn, coming into this [past] summer, how to manage my time, how to even slow down in life.”
Even with those struggles, Mitchell averaged 23.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in his second year in the league, though he fell short against the Houston Rockets in the first round.
He's gotten off to a strong start in 2019-20, leading the Jazz to a 100-95 opening night win against the Oklahoma City Thunder behind his game-best 32 points.
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