Utah Jazz rookie shooting guard Donovan Mitchell has now scored four straight 20-point games, dating back to last Thursday's 24-point effort against the L.A. Clippers, making him the first player in franchise history to do so since Darrell Griffith in 1980-81, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

Griffith won the Rookie of the Year award that season, becoming the replacement to “Pistol” Pete Maravich, as the franchise made a move from New Orleans to Salt Lake City. A 6-foot-4, 190-pound shooting guard (eerily similar to his modern counterpart), Griffith went to school at Louisville, just like Mitchell — and averaged 20.6 points per game in his rookie season.

If we're talking chances, 16 winners of the last 36 seasons have been the No. 1 overall pick. Griffith was the second overall selection in the 1980 NBA Draft, but Mitchell had a different route, being selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 13th pick and then traded to the Jazz during draft night.

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The Louisville product somehow has earned the trust and confidence of a no-nonsense coach in Quin Snyder, earning the starting spot only a few games into the season and flourishing right in front of his eyes.

Mitchell has put up a career-high 41 points in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday and backed up his scoring prowess with 31 last night in a losing effort against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

While the Louisville product didn't have the glamour of lottery picks like Lonzo Ball, Jayson Tatum, or De'Aaron Fox, he's proven to be an NBA-ready talent at both ends, averaging a rookie-best 17.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.4 steals per game, thanks to his 7-foot wingspan.

Utah had been looking for the one scoring talent to replace the hole left by Gordon Hayward this offseason, and they might just have found it in one legitimate candidate for a Rookie of the Year campaign.