Donovan Mitchell is having a terrific 2021 NBA playoffs, leading his Utah Jazz to win six straight games between rounds one and two. The guard has taken his game to the next level, becoming one of the biggest stories of this postseason.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is really high on Mitchell, already crowning him the best player in franchise history. The Jazz clinched the league-best record this season, led by Spida and Rudy Gobert. Seeing his performances in the playoffs, this man is on the way to becoming one of the greatest Jazz players ever.
Well, Stephen A. believes he’s already done enough not only to be top 3 but to be the best player to ever don the Jazz’s colors. On Friday’s edition of “Get Up!,” the controversial analyst made a case for Mitchell, comparing him to Dwyane Wade and putting him above John Stockton and Karl Malone among Utah greats.
Watch the video below:
“Donovan Mitchell is D-Wade 2.0. Donovan Mitchell is a closer. Donovan Mitchell is a superstar. Donovan Mitchell is outplaying both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Not one or the other, both of them, and the brother’s only 24,” Smith proclaimed.
“He’s got a J, got a handle, got an NBA body, is strong, can finish at the basket. He take it to the hole, can create his own shot, can hit free throws. There’s nothing this brother cannot do. In Utah, already, I don’t wanna hear about Karl Malone. I don’t wanna hear about John Stockton. That’s the best player in the history of the Jazz organization right there. I just said it, and I ain’t stuttering.”
Mitchell is indeed doing a great job against a candidate team like the Clippers, but Malone and Stockton led this team to two NBA Finals. Donovan is yet to reach the Western Conference Finals, and even though he seems to be very close to doing so, Stephen A. is taking things too far with this one.
Still, No. 45 has a bright future; he hasn’t even reached his prime and is already destroying big teams. At the end of his career, he’ll probably be the greatest Jazz player ever. But, right now, this seems like too much.
Perhaps he has that crazy run in him, just like D-Wade in 2006, leads the Jazz to the championship. If this hypothetical scenario becomes a reality, there will be no doubt that Mitchell is the greatest Jazz of all time.
