Donovan Mitchell Wants to Put LeBron James in Cavaliers' Past

For the Cavaliers, the past year has been memorable. For just the third time in the history of the franchise, Cleveland won 60-plus games, tallying 64 wins and landing the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Star guard Donovan Mitchell, though he sacrificed some individual statistics, was the driving force.

He averaged 24.0 points, his lowest scoring output in six seasons, but helped support breakout years from the likes Ty Jerome and Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley.

As Mitchell told Fox Sports, "It's been one of the best seasons of my life. I'm glad I'm here. Obviously, it's no secret: Did I want to go home (to New York)? I mean, yeah, sure. But coming here, seeing the group we had, understanding what we could continue to build, it wasn't long before I was like, man, this is special."

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) dribbles the ball while Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard (2) defends during game three of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit&colon; Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Of course, the second round of the playoffs did not get off to a special start, as the Cavs lost both of the first two games on their home floor to the Pacers. But they did rebound to win Game 3 in Indiana, reviving their championship hopes after their special regular season.

Mitchell scored 43 points on the game, his second straight 40-poi nt output. That puts him in rare company for the Cavaliers, as he and star LeBron James are the only players in franchise history to go for back-to-back 40-point playoff games.

And that is a challenge for Mitchell. As a star player for the Cavaliers, he will inevtiably be compared with James, who brought the franchise its only championship back in 2016. But Mitchell also told Fox that today's Cavaliers are leaving James' teams firmly in the past.

"We don't talk about necessarily it being the first time since LeBron has left," Mitchell said. "I think it's more so what we can do as a group and be special. I think it's something we definitely want to do for our own right. LeBron has done incredible things for the franchise. Now it's time for us to try to continue to bring another championship to the city."

Mitchell and the Cavs will be back on the floor for Game 4 in Indiana on Sunday.

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