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Donovan Mitchell is one of the biggest surprises in the NBA this season with a great chance to be named the Rookie of the Year. He's a confident guy and has felt like he belonged in the NBA, but he didn't expect all of this to happen, especially this quickly.
Sam Amick of USA Today Sports recently sat down with Mitchell to discuss how his rookie season has played out.
Mitchell knew he'd have a bigger role way back when he was playing in the summer league for the Utah Jazz. He was in his hotel room when it was announced that Gordan Hayward was signing with the Boston Celtics.
Article Continues Below“It was a shock to all of us, It was definitely tough. From that point on, I got a text from (Jazz center) Rudy (Gobert) that was like, ‘Look, we’re going to go out there and do our thing.’ And we were excited.”
Mitchell knew that he would probably have a bigger role on the team, but he didn't expect it would be already this big, at least not right away.
“I didn’t expect any of this to happen, But now that it’s here, I expect myself to do a lot more and continue to work as hard as I can to get better and better.”
Mitchell is averaging 19.6 points, 3.5 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game. But for the steady rookie, the team stats are most important, and as Mitchell's game has improved so has the Jazz's stats.
The Jazz are currently sitting with a 31-30 record which puts them in 10th place in the Western Conference. They are also only 2.5 games out of the last playoff spot.
It is going to be an uphill climb, but if Mitchell and the Jazz continue their hot play, they could sneak right into the playoffs when the smoke of battle finally clears out.
