The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to be among the top teams in the Eastern Conference heading into the 2025-26 season. As Donovan Mitchell grows in stature as a leader, the guard recently appeared on SiriusXM NBA Radio to express how Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson has laid out a challenge for him this season.
“Everybody wants to sacrifice until it’s your turn,” Mitchell stated. “Everybody’s like, ‘You should, you should, you should.’ But what about looking in the mirror? I think that was a lot of what Kenny [Atkinson] was saying was like, ‘Hey, you’re here. We’ve got to make sure we get guys up here, too.’ And that’s empowering teammates.”
“Obviously, do I have the ball in my hands, do I score more than guys on my team? Yeah. But like, putting guys there on that level. Empowerment. Having that and looking at yourself in the mirror, ‘How can I get others better?’ That was the next jump for me, and he really challenged me on that. I appreciate that from a coaching standpoint.”
Donovan Mitchell shed light on the demands Atkinson made of him since joining the Cavs. From reducing his minutes and scoring production to even sitting out certain stretches, the 29-year-old learned the value of making sacrifices for the betterment of the team.
“The goal is to win a championship,” Mitchell continued. “Not just, ‘Hey, I average 30 for my career or 25 for my career,’ and then go home and that’s it. You want to win a championship and play at the highest level, and that’s the goal.”
Geared to contend for a title in the upcoming campaign, Mitchell will certainly need to bring the best out of his teammates and himself if the Cavaliers are to make it out of the East.
Can Donovan Mitchell Lead The Cavs To A Title?
The 2024-25 campaign saw the Cleveland Cavaliers put up an impressive 64-18 record, helping them secure the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Along with their accomplishments as a team, individual stars also shone, as Evan Mobley won the DPOY award and Donovan Mitchell finished fifth in MVP voting.
For all intents and purposes, Cleveland was poised to make it out of the East. Unfortunately, injuries sustained at a crucial point of the postseason completely derailed their run. While disheartening, the Cavs may also perceive this as fuel for the upcoming campaign.
Aside from minor roster upgrades, the Cavs are expecting to see drastic improvements from stars like Mobley. This will be a crucial development as Cleveland adjusts to playing without Darius Garland, who continues to recover from injury.
Although the Cavs posted a 1-3 record in the preseason, there is enough evidence to suggest that they will be a dominant team during the regular season. Heading into their season opener against the New York Knicks on Wednesday, Oct. 22, Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers will look to set the tone by securing a win on the road against one of the best teams in the conference.
