Donovan Mitchell’s 71 Point Game

By Peter Murphy ’24

Many people started the New Year off right. Some bought a gym membership that they will never use again after less than two months of usage. Others quit certain bad habits they did last year to try to better themselves. For Donovan Mitchell, this was quite a different story as he came into January 2nd, 2023 with a 71 point game against the Chicago Bulls. The news of this accomplishment made by Donavon Mitchell came to national attention because of the sheer talent it takes to score that many points in a single game. What also makes this significant is that not long ago on March 24th, 2017 when Devin Booker scored a 70 point game which gained the same amount of attention. But how did Donavon Mitchells’s path to greatness begin?

Donavon Mitchell was born on September 7th, 1996 in Elmsford, New York. Donavan attended school in Connecticut where he completed middle school at Greenwich Country Day School. He then, unfortunately, decided to attend the Canterbury School for two years, before transferring to Brewster Academy where he really began to shine on the court and gain college interest. Donavan Mitchell would attend the University of Louisville, where he would only stay for two seasons, before declaring for the 2017 NBA draft. Mitchell would be picked 13th in the first round of the draft by the Denver Nuggets, and would be immediately traded to the Utah Jazz. Mitchell would gain a great achievement at the beginning of 2018 when he would be named for the NBA All-Rookie First Team. Donavan Mitchell would make the playoffs with the Jazz in the 2019-2020 season. On August 17th, 2020, the Jazz would be knocked out of the playoffs by the Denver Nuggets in overtime. Mitchell would score 57 points in this game, which is to this date, the third most points in playoff history. Donavon Mitchell would play for the Jazz for two more seasons before being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Mitchell would debut for the Cavs on October 19th, 2022. Today Donavon Mitchell is still on the Cavs which is 4th in the Eastern conference as of now. Donavon Mitchell continues to amaze people all over the world with his play style and gritty mindset, regardless of his attendance at Canterbury.