25 Facts About Donovan Mitchell On His 25th Birthday

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Donovan Mitchell turns 25 today.

The Utah Jazz superstar has already earned his stripes as one of the best players in basketball today, and at his current pace, Mitchell ought to solidify himself as one of the five greatest players to ever wear a Jazz uniform.

On his 25th birthday, we look at facts you may have not known about the Jazz guard.

Happy Birthday @spidadmitchell!

🥳🕷#45is25 #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/iCXdCeoa3R

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 7, 2021

25 Facts About Donovan Mitchell

Playoff Superstar

1. Mitchell’s 28.8 playoff points per game average is the second-highest in Jazz history behind only Adrian Dantley who averaged 28.9 points per game.

The difference? Mitchell has played in 33 postseason games of the Jazz while Dantley only played in 21.

2. Mitchell is the only Jazz player to lead all scorers in the playoffs. Though they were eliminated in just seven games, Mitchell’s 36.3 points per game against the Denver Nuggets led all postseason performers.

Donovan Mitchell has scored 30+ points and 5+ threes in 5 straight games, the longest streak in NBA playoff history.

That breaks the record previously set by Steph Curry in 2015.

(Submitted by @keerthikau) pic.twitter.com/WrWHhdpgr1

— StatMuse (@statmuse) June 15, 2021

3. Mitchell’s 36.3 points per game against the Nuggets is the highest individual scoring average for any Jazz player in a postseason run.

Malone averaged 30.7 points per game in the 1989 playoffs while Dantley averaged 32.2 in 1984.

4. The guard has the two highest-scoring totals in Jazz playoff history.

The guard scored 57 points in a game one loss to the Nuggets in 2020 and 51 points in a game four victory later in the series.

Donovan Mitchell’s 57 PTS is the 3rd most points scored in an #NBAPlayoffs game in @NBAHistory.

Michael Jordan: 63 vs. BOS in ‘86
Elgin Baylor: 61 vs. BOS in ‘62
Donovan Mitchell: 57 vs. DEN in ‘20

— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) August 17, 2020

5. Mitchell is three of the top five scoring outings in Jazz playoff history.

In addition to the aforementioned 50 point games, the guard also scored 45 points, the fifth-highest total in game one of the team’s second-round matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers in 2021.

6. Mitchell has never scored in single digits in a playoff game.

Despite qualifying for the postseason in every year of his career, the guard has scored at least 10 points in all of his 34 appearances.

In fact, the guard has only failed to score at least 20 points in five of his 33 appearances.

Already An All-Time Jazzman

7. Mitchell is third on the Jazz All-Time made three-pointers list, despite playing 37th most games.

The All-Star guard has made 726 threes, just 119 fewer than John Stockton despite playing 1,226 fewer games. Mitchell is 267 made threes behind franchise leader Joe Ingles.

📼 @spidadmitchell 2020-21 Mixtape 📼

Click video for full highlights or head over to our YouTube 📺 pic.twitter.com/sKmgfsap12

— utahjazz (@utahjazz) July 22, 2021

8. Despite rapidly climbing up many of the Jazz all-time leaderboards, Mitchell is doing it in limited minutes.

The guard ranks just eighth in minutes per game at 33.7, fewer than Malone’s 37.3, but more than Stockton’s 31.8.

9. Mitchell has the fourth-highest career scoring average in Jazz history. At 23.4, the guard only trails Dantley (29.6), Malone (25.4), and Pete Maravich (25.2).

10. While Mitchell is known for his scoring acumen, he’s also one of the better passers in franchise history.

This pass from Donovan Mitchell was impressive.

He created a ton of easy looks at the rim tonight for his teammates. pic.twitter.com/qFVgzSrxcd

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) December 18, 2020

The Jazz guard ranks eighth all-time in assists per game at 4.3.

11. Though he’s not known for his defense, the guard is prolific in one category.

Mitchell ranks ninth in steals per game for the Jazz at 1.2.

12. Mitchell may play fewer minutes than other Jazz legends, but only one player has been more featured within the team’s offense.

The guard ranks second in usage percentage at 31.1 behind only John Drew who played 144 games for the Jazz between 1982 and 1985.

Charitable Work

13. Mitchell has plans to donate more than 10 million dollars to his former grade school.

Along with his mother Nicole and sister Jordan, the All-Star pledged $12 million to the Greenwich Country Day School where the guard attended classes between third and ninth grade, and where his mother taught.

Thank you does not begin to express our appreciation for NBA superstar Donovan Mitchell @spidadmitchell '12, his family, and their pledge of $12 million, the largest single pledge of support to the school in the history of the institution. Read more: https://t.co/Kso80BpMEd pic.twitter.com/jsbWAk0ZTP

— Greenwich Country Day School (@gcdstigers) December 4, 2020

14. Mitchell made sure students from the Granite School District were able to continue to get healthy meals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With schools shut down, the superstar made a donation that helped as many as 10,040 students per day avoid missing lunch according to the Jazz.

15. The guard refurbished basketball courts at The Children’s Village Community Center in New York where his late grandmother worked.

Donovan Mitchell's charitable work never stops!

The @utahjazz superstar donated these incredible basketball courts to the @ChildrensVllg where his late grandmother worked. #takenote https://t.co/j76YJrEomP

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) July 9, 2021

The Children’s Village Community Center partners with families with vulnerable children to become “educationally proficient, economically productive, and socially responsible members of their communities.”

16. Mitchell was a finalist for the NBA’s Community Assist Award in 2021 for his numerous donations.

The guard qualified for the year-end Community Assist Award nomination after earning the honor for the 2020 NBA offseason. He also donated $90,000 to set up an education fund for the children of Jacob Blake, gave $200,000 to his alma mater Louisville, and gave D.O.N. Issue #2s to the Kennesaw State men’s basketball team.

All-Star Regular

17. Mitchell is one of only eight Jazz players to be named to multiple All-Star teams.

The guard was selected to the 2020 and 2021 rosters, joining Maravich, Dantley, Malone, Stockton, Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams, and Rudy Gobert as the only Jazz players to more than one All-Star game.

Donovan Mitchell wowed the crowd at last year's Slam Dunk Contest! 🕷🔨

This year's #ATTSlamDunk participants will be revealed TONIGHT at 8pm ET on TNT! 📺 pic.twitter.com/4Luac7FaoY

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 5, 2019

18. The guard is only the second Jazz player to win the NBA Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend.

Mitchell won the contest in 2018 as a rookie, joining Jeremy Evans as the only Jazz players to ever take home the trophy.

Personal Facts

19. Mitchell got his nickname “Spida” from a friend’s dad while playing AAU basketball.

The coach said Mitchell swung around the floor getting steals with the same agility as Spiderman

20. Mitchell is a die-hard Mets fan and many of his tweets are directed in support of the organization.

Happy birthday, @spidadmitchell! 🕷️⚾️🏀 pic.twitter.com/G9EeKvDiH8

— New York Mets (@Mets) September 7, 2021

The All-Star guard has familiar ties to the team as his father, Donovan Sr., is the Mets director of player relations. The Mets organization even wished him a Happy Birthday this year.

21. Mitchell chose the jersey number 45 as an ode to Michael Jordan who briefly wore the number after returning to the Chicago Bulls out of retirement.

22. The guard is a well-known basketball junkie.

When he is not in the gym, Mitchell is notorious for having multiple TVs to watch games in his home on off nights and during the summer.

23. Though he shoots the ball right-handed, Mitchell bats and golfs left-handed.

.@spidadmitchell came THIS close to a homer in BP at Citi Field ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/CMy6pdMm3m

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 22, 2019

An avid baseball player growing up, the guard even took batting practice left-handed at Citi Field in New York.

24. Mitchell was a LeBron James fan growing up.

In the rivalry between James and Kobe Bryant, Mitchell found himself on the side of the current Lakers forward.

The guard even attended James’ announcement that he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat in 2010 which was broadcast from the Greenwich, Connecticut Boys and Girls Club.

25. Mitchell rooted for the New York Knicks as a young basketball fan.

Growing up in the Northeast and attended Knicks games at Madison Square Garden where he watched Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudamire in the early 2010s.