Donovan Mitchell turned 30 on Sept. 7, and the conversation around him in Cleveland has already gotten pretty serious: he’s making a real case to be the second-best Cavalier of all-time.
That sounds like a big swing, but the résumé is starting to stack up. Since Mitchell arrived in Cleveland, the Cavs are 180-84 with him in the lineup.
They’ve advanced past the first round three straight years, including a 2026 Eastern Conference finals trip. Cleveland got swept there, but it still marked the deepest run the franchise has made without LeBron James since reaching the third round in 1992.
Mitchell has also delivered the kind of individual nights that stick in a franchise’s memory. Two years ago, in a game where nobody else could get much going, he carried the load with 50 points against the Orlando Magic. The Cavs still came up short that night, but they bounced back and won Game 7 to take the series.
His production has stayed elite. Last season, the Louisville product averaged right around 28 points per game, right back at the level he posted in his first year in Cleveland. He also added nearly six assists per game while shooting 48%, which is a strong efficiency mark for a small guard.
The scoring numbers keep pushing him up the franchise lists. Mitchell is behind only Kevin Love, LeBron James, and Darius Garland in made 3s right now, and he’s on pace to move into second by the end of the season. He’s also ninth in two-point field goal percentage, which is higher than any volume guard in team history.
In the broader stat picture, he sits second in Cavaliers scoring at 26.7 points per game, fifth in steals per game at 1.5, and second in PER at 22.2, just ahead of Jarrett Allen, who arrived 1.5 seasons earlier.
Then there’s the outlier that separates him from most of the names in this discussion: Mitchell owns the franchise record for points in a game with 71. In that game, 55 came after halftime, including 24 in the third quarter, 18 in the fourth, and 13 more in overtime. The missed free throw into a quick tying basket set up the record night.
He’s also had his share of big late-game moments, including the game-winning jumper against the Bucks a few seasons ago. The one thing he still doesn’t have is the long Cleveland tenure that players like Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Kevin Love put together. Kyrie Irving, of course, has THE SHOT and the title to his name.
Even with that gap in longevity, Mitchell’s case keeps growing. He still needs more games in the uniform to keep climbing, but the path is there. He can’t catch No. 23, but the argument for second place is already very much alive.
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