Utah Jazz shooting guard Donovan Mitchell won't defend his title as the NBA's Slam Dunk Contest winner in this year's All-Star Weekend, choosing to set his sights solely on the pursuit of the playoffs in a tight Western Conference race.
“I loved doing the dunk contest last year and it was a ton of fun, but I also know it takes a lot of focus, practice and preparation,” Mitchell told Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News.“Right now, my mind is really on helping my team make a deep run second half of the season. I’m excited though for the weekend,”
While he won't take part in this year's dunk contest, Mitchell hasn't completely ruled out taking on the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, Feb. 15 — an event that requires much less preparation.
Mitchell is fresh off being named the Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday for the very first time in his career, averaging 31.5 points on 48.4 percent from the field and 48.6 percent from deep, along with 4.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists during the second week of the calendar year (Jan 7-13).
The Jazz have won seven of their last eight and regained possession of the eighth seed in the West, heading into a Friday night matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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