Since playing his first game in the NBA, Utah Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell has turned a lot of heads with his impressive play. He is proving that despite being selected 13th overall in last June’s draft, he is one of the best first year players in the league today, and belongs to the conversation of candidates for the Rookie of the Year Award.
The 21-year-old Louisville product recently shared that he also wants to participate in the All-Star Weekend festivities and would love to compete in the slam dunk contest if given the opportunity. He then added, via the I am Rappaport podcast, that he has some dunks he would like to showcase, but also admitted that he could lose if Aaron Gordon and Derrick Jones Jr. will once again compete in the event.
“I'll do it,” Mitchell said. “But if you've seen Aaron Gordon, Derrick Jones (Jr.), and all those guys, I'm not gonna win it. But I'll do it. …
“I keep telling people this joke. I grew up with Derrick Jones, like around him for a long time. I've probably done 13 dunk contests in my life. I lost 12 to Derrick Jones.”
“So I would definitely do it. I got some dunks that I think would be cool.”
Through 35 games, Mitchell is leading all rookies in scoring with 18.2 a game, to go along with his averages of 3.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.5 steals in 30.7 minutes. More importantly, he is giving the Jazz fans a lot of reason to be excited about their team’s future and that he could be an integral part of their future plans.
It remains to be seen if Mitchell will indeed receive an invite from the NBA to participate in the dunk contest or not. However, one thing that’s certain is that he will make it more competitive with his presence, as he has shown that he has the hops and power to throw down some exciting ones during the first half of this season.
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