Donovan Mitchell’s partnership with Adidas is headed into rare territory.
The company and Mitchell have agreed to a multi-year extension that will keep his signature line rolling through a 10th shoe, while also adding more support for Greenwich Country Day, his high school in Greenwich, Conn. According to Shams Charania, the deal makes Mitchell the seventh active NBA player to reach that 10-shoe mark. Financial terms were not reported.
The Adidas relationship goes back to Mitchell’s rookie year in 2017, when he signed with the brand after one college season at Louisville. That season at Louisville came at an Adidas school, and after his first year with the Utah Jazz, the company replaced his original three-year shoe deal with a contract that included a signature line, ESPN reported in 2018.
Mitchell unveiled the D.O.N. Issue #1 on Dec. 27, 2018, and two teenage student writers from Greenwich Country Day got the first interview about it.
At the time, he was one of just four active Adidas athletes with a signature sneaker, alongside James Harden, Damian Lillard, and Derrick Rose. The first model hit stores in July 2019.
The D.O.N. name stands for Determination Over Negativity, which Adidas describes as Mitchell’s personal motto. The D.O.N.
Issue 6 debuted July 5, 2024, at $120, the same week Mitchell agreed to a three-year, $150.3 million extension with Cleveland. Adidas currently lists the D.O.N.
Issue 8 on its product page.
Greenwich Country Day has long been part of Mitchell’s story. His mother taught there for 12 years, and his sister, Jordan, is also a graduate.
In 2020, Mitchell and his family pledged $12 million to the school for scholarships for low-income students and a new gym facility. Mitchell said at the time that the gift would help "make the Country Day experience available for more kids."
The new Adidas agreement arrives as Mitchell enters his 10th NBA season. He agreed July 7 to a four-year, $273 million maximum extension with the Cavaliers, and the team announced it July 9. The deal includes a player option for 2030-31.
Mitchell averaged 27.9 points last season and earned All-NBA Second Team honors. At the Cavaliers’ start-of-season press conference Sept. 25, president of basketball operations Koby Altman said the franchise hopes to retire Mitchell’s No. 45 someday.
The 2026-27 season will be Mitchell’s 10th in the league and his fifth in Cleveland, after the Cavaliers acquired him from Utah in September 2022. Cleveland is currently in Spain for training camp, will open the preseason Oct. 8 against the Boston Celtics at Rocket Arena, and starts the regular season Thursday, Oct. 22, at the Philadelphia 76ers at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
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