Donovan Mitchell named 2023 NBA All-Star Game starter, first for Cavs since LeBron James
Donovan Mitchell was a three-time All-Star with the Utah Jazz before the blockbuster trade that brought him to Cleveland. Since joining the Cavs, Mitchell has enjoyed the best season of his career nearly across the board.
And now he'll be in the starting lineup for the All-Star Game for the first time.
Mitchell was named an Eastern Conference All-Star Game starter by the league live on TNT Thursday night. It's his fourth consecutive All-Star Game selection, with the first three coming with the West.
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This season, Mitchell has averaged 28.3 points on 48% shooting — both career bests — along with 4.8 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. He ranks fifth in the NBA in value over placement player (3.2), ninth in points per game, 11th in box plus/minus (6.7) and 12th in win shares. Mitchell and Steph Curry are the only players in the league to average at least 25 points per game while shooting 48% or better from the field.
"I had a terrible playoff series [with Utah], and you hear the chatter about, 'Is he good enough, is he not good enough, and whatnot," Mitchell told TNT while discussing the extra motivation that comes with being traded to a new team. "So for me, coming into this season, trying to prove a point to myself and honestly prove a point to everybody that I'm as good as I think I am, and I gotta be consistent."
Of course, two of Mitchell's performances have stood out above the rest. The first was his 71-point explosion in one of the 10-best scoring performances in league history. The second was his take-over-the-game fourth quarter against LeBron James and the Lakers. Both helped to establish him as one of the most prolific scorers in the Eastern Conference this season.
Donovan Mitchell fourth Cavaliers player to be All-Star Game starter
Mitchell is the fourth Cavs player to be named an All-Star Game starter, joining James (10 times), Kyrie Irving (twice) and Shawn Kemp (once), and the first since James in 2018.
Fans accounted for 50% of the vote to determine the 10 starters for the 2023 All-Star Game, which will be held Sunday, Feb. 19, at Vivint Arena in Utah. The All-Star Game reserves will be announced on TNT Feb. 2.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 2023 NBA All-Star starters announced: Cavs' Donovan Mitchell named
