“I was definitely a Heat fan growing up” – Donovan Mitchell talks about supporting the LeBron James and Dwyane Wade-led Miami Heat
Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell has become an NBA superstar, and it appears his bond with Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade goes back to the early years.
Mitchell rose to All-Star status in each of the previous two seasons. Once Wade became a minority owner of the team, the two started to connect, and Wade has made it a goal to give guidance to the talented Jazz guard.
Throughout his career in Miami, Wade was known for being a physical guard with elite explosiveness. Wade had the ability to take over a game with his offensive weaponry, as could score from multiple levels. That same type of ability can be used to describe Mitchell, who has even been compared to the NBA legend.
In a recent interview with The Athletic, Mitchell talked about growing up as a Miami Heat fan, idolizing Wade and his teammate, LeBron James.
“I was definitely a Heat fan growing up,” Mitchell said. “I remember when him and LeBron were playing the Pacers in a playoff series. And I just remember how they manipulated the game in the fourth quarter and overtime. I remember … how much he impacted my life and my career growing up."
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The moment the skinny kid from Chicago got to Marquette, Tom Crean saw the athleticism.
What he didn’t see was a three-time NBA champion and one of the greatest players of all-time.
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A bond between two talented stars
Although Donovan Mitchell has shared a bond with Dwyane Wade with the Utah Jazz, it's clear there was mutual respect from an earlier stage. The two have often been compared because of their playing styles. Both became faces of their franchises.
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Mitchell remains Utah's headliner, now in his fifth season. His next goal will be to try to accomplish something Wade did three times with the Miami Heat: winning an NBA championship. The Jazz (28-13) are in third place in the Western Conference.
Mitchell is averaging 25.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 45.4%.
Utah made the playoffs the previous five seasons, reaching the semifinals last season. The Jazz drafted Mitchell out of Louisville with the 13th overall pick in 2017. "Spider" made the All-Rookie team after averaging 20.5 ppg in his debut season. That remains the lowest scoring average of his career as Mitchell has been a consistent scorer.
His scoring success as a professional is an improvement from when he was at Louisville, averaging 7.4 ppg as a freshman and then 15.6 ppg as a sophomore.