Donovan Mitchell, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ All-NBA guard and one of the league’s most electrifying scorers, has hinted at a surprising post-basketball ambition: a return to the baseball diamond.
While most NBA stars dream of coaching, broadcasting, or building empires off the court, Mitchell’s heart seems to be tugged by the crack of the bat and the smell of fresh-cut grass.
“I miss the game,”
Mitchell admitted in a recent interview, referring to baseball, a sport that shaped his early years before basketball took center stage.
Mitchell’s baseball roots run deep. His father, Donovan Mitchell Sr., played minor league ball and has worked in various roles with the New York Mets since the early ’90s. Growing up, young Donovan was immersed in the culture of the sport: stretching with players, hanging out in locker rooms, and even serving as a bat boy for the Kingsport Mets. He wasn’t just a spectator, he was part of the team.
“I was living a professional life at nine or ten,” Mitchell recalled. “I had my own uniform, stretched with the guys, threw with them. They took me under their wing. I felt like a little brother”.
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Mitchell starred in both basketball and baseball during his high school years in Connecticut. But a collision with a catcher during a baseball game, an injury that sidelined him, ultimately shifted his focus to basketball. The rest, as they say, is NBA history. Six All-Star selections, a Slam Dunk Contest title, and a Cavaliers franchise-record 71-point game later, Mitchell has cemented his legacy on the court.
Still, the diamond calls.
While Mitchell hasn’t formally announced any plans to pursue professional baseball, the idea isn’t far-fetched. Athletes like Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson famously played both sports at elite levels. Even Michael Jordan took a swing at baseball during his first retirement. Mitchell’s athleticism, work ethic, and deep understanding of the game, thanks to his upbringin, make the possibility intriguing.
