Donovan Mitchell on Cavs’ NBA Title Aspirations, Rick Pitino Lessons & Building Adidas Legacy

In the latest episode of Network with Rich Kleiman, the Cleveland shooting guard reflects on his path to NBA stardom, his playing days at Louisville, his Mets upbringing, and more.

When Donovan Mitchell was working his way into the NBA, his workout with the Jazz — the team that eventually drafted him with the 13th pick in the 2017 Draft — was so good that then-Utah GM Dennis Lindsley reportedly threatened to fire members of his staff if word got out about it. A late bloomer who was never a McDonald’s All-American, barely saw the floor as a freshman at Louisville, and never made an All-American team during his two seasons with the Cardinals, Mitchell has had to scratch and claw his way to where he is today, now with the Cleveland Cavaliers as a six-time NBA All-Star.

That said, Donnie has been prepped to be a professional since he was a young kid, growing up around Major League Baseball locker rooms as the son of a player relations executive with the New York Mets. He built relationships with players like José Reyes and David Wright, and even got to run track sprints with pitchers at Spring Training.

“Jacob DeGrom was with my dad in Savannah, Georgia. I was there for that before he made the majors like that. Jake and I have a really good relationship,” Mitchell said on the latest episode of Network with Rich Kleiman.

In addition to discussing his upbringing as a Mets fan with Kleiman, Mitchell also talks about the Cavaliers’ first-place season, teaming up with Lonzo Ball, lessons from Rick Pitino, his Adidas signature shoe line, and what it takes to reach the NBA Finals. He and Kleiman also share their thoughts on basketball culture and brand power in sports.

“Those were the worst two years, but the best two years of my life,” Mitchell said on playing for Pitino at Louisville. “I was always a dog, I was always hungry, but [if there’s] another button to be pushed, that man is the master of finding whatever that is and pushing it.”

Be sure to catch the full conversation at Boardroom’s YouTube channel here as well as on Yahoo Sports’ podcast pages on Apple and Spotify.