At the 5:02 mark in the fourth quarter at Barclays Center, Cavs star Donovan Mitchell went from angry to taken aback in a hurry.
Before the Cavaliers could inbound the ball as they hemorrhaged a double-digit lead to Egor Demin and the surging Brooklyn Nets, a fan in a purple hoodie sprinted onto the floor and darted directly toward the NBA All-Star guard.
Mitchell took a step back, confused, as the person aggressively took a photo on his phone before being ragdolled off the court by four security members.
“Oh s***,” Mitchell said postgame of his initial reaction. “I took a few steps back and then I repositioned my feet, and I was ready to handle whatever was necessary. The kid wanted a selfie. I know he's probably doing some jail time, but when he gets out, he's probably got a great selfie. Sorry, I don't think that's a joke.”
It was a scary moment that didn't exactly fit the bill of the attention that should be drawn, like Allen dunking on every Nets player in his way.
“At first, I was confused, and I saw him running towards Don and took a step towards him,” Jarrett Allen added from his vantage point. “But we have great security in the Barclays Center. Shout out to them. They took care of it. When he left the court, his feet didn’t touch the ground. They carried him out of the building.”
Heated about the Cavs allowing the Nets to chop a 20-point lead down to a single possession, Mitchell didn't let the odd moment affect him.
“I can't say it did, to be honest,” Mitchell said. “I was pretty pissed off we blew the lead. It was just like, ‘Alright, it happened,' and move on. My mind was there, and then I saw somebody running, so I didn't really have time to process it all. Glad they handled it. Security handled it.”
Atkinson said he didn't see what happened: “I was kind of like, strange. You never see that in an NBA game. I think you see it in European soccer, right? When a fan runs out there… bizarre. Bizarre.”
This fan rushed the court and ran up to Donovan Mitchell. 😳
(h/t @HoodiGarland)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 25, 2025



















