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All things considered, the Cleveland Cavaliers are off to a pretty good start to the 2025-26 NBA season.
The Cavaliers are 7-4 and are tied for the third-best record in the Eastern Conference. Despite key injuries to Darius Garland — he just recently made his season debut — and Max Strus, Donovan Mitchell has led Cleveland to one of the best records in the league.
The 29-year-old All-Star guard is having a sensational start to the season, averaging 30.4 points per game on a ridiculous efficiency of 51.4% from the field and 40.4% from beyond the arc. Mitchell ranks fourth in the league in points per game.
While it’s true that it’s only 11 games into the season, Mitchell’s efficiency is something that drastically stands out. For perspective, he’s a career 45.0% shooter from the field and 36.8% from beyond the arc.
During a season in which he led the Cavaliers to the best record (64-18) in the East last year, Mitchell converted on 44.3% of his field goal attempts and 36.8% from three-point range.
He has improved that efficiency dramatically despite the Cavaliers missing two of their key starters for most of this season so far.
“I think a lot of this is allowing the game to come to me,” Mitchell told VideoGamer in an exclusive interview. “I’m playing 34-to-36 minutes a night, which is more than I played last year. So naturally my numbers are going to be higher. I think for me, just working on taking shots off the dribble, kind of playmaking, and not necessarily always being in a hurry.
“Last year really helped me with that. Last year allowed me to kind of get (comfortable), and allowing guys to create and build that trust — trusting your teammates to an even higher level — has allowed me to come out this year and just continue to be myself, and just play.”
Mitchell: I’m Seeing The Game Differently Now
As Mitchell starts out his ninth season, he singles out being “more efficient” as something that is key for him.
“I always talk about the best part of my game is to be efficient,” says Mitchell. “Just trying to find ways to be even more efficient. You’re seeing the result of that right now. The biggest thing is just maintaining that. Continuing to be that guy not just seven games, but also throughout the whole season.”
Mitchell is in the midst of his fourth season with the Cavaliers after spending the first five years of his career with the Utah Jazz. The six-time All-Star guard gives major props to his former head coach with the Jazz, Quin Snyder, for helping him mature and become a complete basketball player.
“You let the game come to you,” says Mitchell of the difference between himself and earlier in his career. “A lot of my first two years, I tell people all the time, I didn’t even expect to be in the NBA. I’m riding a high for two years. You get to the NBA, we beat OKC (Thunder) in the playoffs. I won Rookie of the Year. Everybody’s talking about me.
“You have that whole year, then next year, obviously, we don’t do well in the playoffs,” Mitchell continues to say. “It all happened so fast. Now for the next three years, you’re figuring out how to become a complete basketball player. I give Quin Snyder a lot of credit. He taught me a lot, and I’m very thankful for him. When you’re in a situation where you gotta grow up in a sense, I think that forces you to look at things to get better and better. Obviously, experience is the best part about all this. You start to see things differently. I understand the game a lot more, and that’s really what it is. Really what you’re seeing is, how do I make the game easy for others and easy for myself?”
Mitchell: I Won’t Panic If Cavs Don’t Secure No. 1 Seed in East
The Cavaliers obviously did not have the ending to the 2024-25 season that they expected, losing to the 50-32 Indiana Pacers in an upset in the second round of the NBA playoffs. Mitchell says it was a “learning experience” after clinching the No. 1 seed for the first time in his career.
When asked if clinching the No. 1 seed is important this time around, Mitchell says he would “love to” do that again, but the more important thing is playing well entering the playoffs rather than clinching the top seed.
“That’s it — playing well at the right time,” says Mitchell of the team’s objective entering the playoffs. “Would we love to do both? 1,000%. I’m not going to sit here and say we wouldn’t want to be the number one seed. At the same token, we saw last year that you can do all the things, but if you’re not ready when that time goes and if you’re not necessarily healthy, it doesn’t really matter what you’ve done during the regular season.
“Would I love to be the No. 1 seed? Sure. But if we’re not, am I going to be panicking? No. As long as we’re playing our best basketball at the right time, that’s all that really matters.”
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