The track at Flamingo Park in South Beach is always two or three degrees hotter than the other tracks in Miami. And in the heat of Friday afternoons in the summer it’s usually deserted — an uncomfortable place to be.
But for eight weeks this summer, there was Donovan Mitchell. Running endless sprints. Mitchell, his trainer David Alexander and a jug of water. Six sprints of 50 meters. Then five of 100 meters. Three at 200 meters. And then, at the end, two lung-busting 400s, the most grueling of them all on a surface that was usually around 100 degrees.
During overtime Monday night in Cleveland, Mitchell grabbed a loose ball and, in his 48th minute of game action, was still faster than everyone on the floor as he raced toward one of his 22 baskets. As he put the final touches on an iconic game, he was simply stronger and quicker than anyone left on his Cleveland Cavaliers team or the Chicago Bulls.
Mitchell’s 71 points, 13 of them in an epic overtime session, were the most points scored by a single player in nearly 17 years, since Kobe Bryant’s unforgettable 81 against the Toronto Raptors in 2006. There was a seemingly endless line of records left in Mitchell’s wake en route to the 143-134 overtime win, but one seemed more relevant than all the others.
The 99 points Mitchell created — he was the first player in history to have 70 points and 10 assists in a game — were the second most ever behind the night Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in 1962, per ESPN Stats & Information research. Chamberlain also had two assists that game, meaning his mark of 104 will stand.
Living in the same stratosphere as Chamberlain is akin to breaking a LeBron James record in Cleveland, which Mitchell did in the greatest scoring performance in Cavaliers team history. And Chamberlain didn’t perfectly miss a free throw, get the rebound and execute a near-miracle three-point play with three seconds left to force overtime.
“To be there in the record book with guys like Wilt is truly humbling,” said Mitchell, his uniform still soaked after teammates doused him with water in celebration. “I’m speechless and blessed to be in the company of that greatness.”
Stories of summer workouts are common at the highest levels of the NBA, but last summer wasn’t just about building stamina. Mitchell was angry at the end of last season. Angry that the Utah Jazz had a disappointing year. Angry at the talk about relationships with teammates. Angry the team was planning a rebuild that included jettisoning him in hopes for a better future.
He’d watched some of his peers catapult around him. Devin Booker in Phoenix. Ja Morant in Memphis. Jayson Tatum in Boston. Trae Young in Atlanta. These guys were on the All-NBA team, and Mitchell wasn’t.
When it became clear his days in Utah were numbered after the Jazz traded Rudy Gobert on July 1, Mitchell canceled plans to join the team for workouts at summer league in Las Vegas and went to Miami instead.
He didn’t know where he’d be, maybe he’d even start the year in Utah, but he knew he wanted to come back with a different energy. For those two months, he trained harder than ever before. Even when he took an island vacation, he found a five-star resort that also had a basketball court.
It was a mental, physical and emotional cleansing.
When he showed up in Cleveland in September, just a couple weeks after the stunning trade, the Cavs weren’t sure what to expect. They were overjoyed they’d executed the deal to get him, even with the tremendous cost of three unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps, but there was a hint of concern over the unknown.
Would he really want to be in Cleveland? Would he accept playing alongside another scoring guard like Darius Garland? Would he be a bit of a prima donna after the way things had gone in Utah?
Not only did Mitchell show up in jaw-dropping condition, but his attitude was team-first from Day 1 and has remained that way ever since. It’s one of the reasons the Cavs — desperate for his greatness Monday with Garland and star forward Evan Mobley out because of injury — celebrated around him on his amazing night.
“Donovan has never put himself above the team, so how can you not root for a guy like that?” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after he played Mitchell the entire second half and overtime without a break. “We were treated tonight to one of the greatest performances in the history of the game.”
When Mitchell ran his final 400 on the last day of training before heading to Cleveland, Alexander clicked the stopwatch and saw 57 seconds. One of Mitchell’s best times of the summer. The daily work on his body and his game had prepared him for this type of season.
He’s averaging career highs in points and shooting his best-ever percentages on 2s and 3s, and at the foul line. He’s one of the league leaders in minutes, carrying the Cavs as Garland continues to deal with injuries and Ricky Rubio works toward his return from a torn ACL.
Ultimately, this season will not be defined in January. The Cavs are trying to make the playoffs for the first time without James since 1998. They haven’t won a playoff series without him since 1993. They’ve been going through an uneven stretch over the past few weeks, and Mitchell was actually in a bit of a slump before his massive showing.
It’s the end of the season Mitchell was training for all summer. But he’ll always have this one, a game that will be remembered years into the future. And a night when he verified himself as one of the league’s best, just in case anyone had questioned it.
“I always believed I could be one of the best players in the league,” Mitchell said. “I forced myself into it.”
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