Report: Donovan Mitchell Opting Out Of Olympics To Recover From Ankle Injury
Jun 21, 2021, 12:48 PM | Updated: Dec 9, 2022, 11:33 am
Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz and Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics with Team USA (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell has reportedly opted out of the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games in order to recover from his ankle injury.
Donovan Mitchell received an invitation from USA basketball to compete for a gold medal in Tokyo but is choosing to recover from his injury.
Mitchell suffered an ankle injury towards the end of the regular season and even missed Game 1 of their first round series against the Memphis Grizzlies. The Jazz all-star returned to the lineup in Game 2 and played in every game of the postseason until they were eliminated by the Los Angeles Clippers in six games of their Western Conference semifinal series.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the news of Mitchell missing the Olympics.
After getting an invitation to join Team USA for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell has declined the opportunity, sources tell ESPN. Instead, Mitchell will use the time to recover and rehab from his right ankle injury.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 21, 2021
During the 2021 playoffs, Mitchell 28.5 points per game in 4 contests against the Grizzlies, followed by averaging 34.8 points per game in six games against the Clippers.
The Jazz will have other representatives in the Olympics, including Rudy Gobert with France and Joe Ingles with Australia. USA Basketball will be going for their fourth straight gold medal after taking home the top medal in the 2008 Beijing games, 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio de Janeiro games.
