Donovan Mitchell: 5x NBA All Star on Cavaliers Win Streak, how team learned from losses, leadership in adversity, ode to his grandma, family sacrifice, personal life in public eye and Spida in Skims

"I didn't expect to be Donovan Mitchell... It all started with a dream on a boat." Donovan Mitchell is making history this NBA season, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to unprecedented heights. With a record-breaking 15-game winning streak, the team is off to its best start in franchise history, surpassing even the heights of the LeBron era. As the Cavs embark on this historical start to the season, the 5x NBA All Star sits down with Ryan, Fred, and Channing to unpack what’s fueling the Cavs’ dominance this season, shedding some insight on the team's mentality, lessons learned through past losses and what the future holds on this episode of The Pivot Podcast in partnership with Fanatics. Mitchell highlights the team-first mentality instilled by Coach Atkinson, whose philosophy of playing with pace and building good habits has created a winning environment. While he understands the undefeated record won't last forever, Mitchell opens up about the unique chemistry in the Cleveland locker room, where egos are left at the door and players genuinely root for one another—a dynamic that Mitchell believes will help them achieve something special and push through times of adversity. But basketball is just part of Mitchell’s story that we discuss in this conversation as the All Star reflects on personal milestones he's accomplished in his 28 years of life, from buying his mom a house to fulfilling a childhood dream to opening an athletic center at his alma mater hoping to inspire the next generation. In an emotional moment of reflection, Mitchell shares how his grandmother paved the way for him and his family to have the opportunity to turn big dreams into reality, never forgetting where he came from. He shares how growing up between a low-income neighborhood in NYC and the affluent Brewster Academy in Connecticut shaped his work ethic and exposed him to the world, teaching him the value of opportunity and harsh reality of culture and status. The guys go back to Mitchell's college years where his pride in his roots and his admiration for fellow Louisville star, Lamar Jackson, as Mitchell's inspiration from the quarterback originated by him having a front row seat to Jackson's success and rise from an underestimated prospect to 2x NFL MVP. But with all the highs and accolades earned, Mitchell opens up about the lessons he’s learned from tough losses- especially during his time with the Utah Jazz- and how those moments have made him a stronger player and better leader. Now, as he steers the Cavs through a historic season, Mitchell is focused on leaving a legacy that extends beyond the court, using his platform to empower others and make a lasting impact. Tap in for more of the best conversations in sports and entertainment and don't forget to hit subscribe on the Pivot Podcast Youtube Channel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  The new LinkedIn Hiring Pro can't undo your last hire. The no show. Who set you back because they didn't show up on day one? Or day two, or ever again? And now your product launch is delayed because you're talking to alien abduction podcasters to track them down. But LinkedIn Hiring Pro can help make sure your next hire sticks. In fact, businesses who use LinkedIn are 24% less likely to reopen a role in the next 12 months. Hire right the first time with LinkedIn Hiring Pro. Post a free job today at LinkedIn.com/quality.

• 0:30Ryan Clark?

  This episode is brought to you by Simply Safe. There's no safe like Simply Safe. But there was somebody I was just talking to. Oh, it was Bart Scott. Bart Scott said when he got to Baltimore, the way they talked about Fred and Jimmy was crazy. They said like Fred would be hurt and they'd be fired up.

• 0:49Fred Taylor?

  On some real. Because they know when I'm out there, it's like, aight, my.

• 0:54Channing Crowder?

  That's bad.

• 0:55Ryan Clark?

  They said Fred would get hurt.

• 0:56Fred Taylor?

  Because I used to serve them boys like the 2000 team. Jimmy gave them boys 290. On the 2000, the best defense in the world.

• 1:08Ryan Clark?

  He was gonna line up on the right side by himself every play.

• 1:14Fred Taylor?

  What Jimmy did to D. Starks?

• 1:18Ryan Clark?

  That Cooper Cup and Tyreek and them.

• 1:21Fred Taylor?

  Jimmy do nothing? Nah.

• 1:22Ryan Clark?

  Am I lying? Jimmy is gonna be the X.

• 1:24Fred Taylor?

  XXX.

• 1:25Ryan Clark?

  On the left of the office by himself.

• 1:28Fred Taylor?

  Man, my bad, dawg.

• 1:30Ryan Clark?

  You good, man? You good. The one thing we always knew is hoopers is super, super extra in Hollywood. You know what I mean?

• 1:38Fred Taylor?

  No, don't do that.

• 1:40Ryan Clark?

  Want to take the picture real quick? Yeah. Like in my mind, I actually hoop. In my mind, I actually hoop like Donovan in high school. Like I felt like. I'm glad you said in your mind. It's in my mind.

• 1:50Speaker 04

  You know what I just saw too, you was talking about how you gonna tackle Derrick Henry 10 times. I just saw that 10 times.

• 1:55Ryan Clark?

  I moved to defy.

• 1:55Speaker 04

  You know what I realized? You just, you know, you, you, you, you know, no way.

• 1:59Ryan Clark?

  It ain't, it ain't, it ain't all, it's not all the way turning over.

• 2:02Speaker 04

  No, no, that's exactly what it is.

• 2:03Fred Taylor?

  But a lot of times you gotta convince yourself that you can do those things.

• 2:07Speaker 04

  That's very true, you know, that's very true.

• 2:09Ryan Clark?

  But just the thing about the way I'm talking about how Donovan plays, right? Like, take away the fact that he can actually shoot the basketball, right? A lot of that other stuff I could do, Chan. Jesus Christ.

• 2:19Speaker 04

  You can't, you, you saw the 360 layup?

• 2:22Ryan Clark?

  I said high school. The one against the Bulls?

• 2:24Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 2:25Ryan Clark?

  No, see, I'm talk, I said, I'm talking about high school Donovan though. Not this one. This guy's practiced for a long time.

• 2:31Speaker 04

  I don't know, even high school mean like.

• 2:33Channing Crowder?

  Hey man, he can do all thing through God who's trained him.

• 2:38Channing Crowder?

  He's stuck with the Bible on this one.

• 3:01Ryan Clark?

  Man, thank you so much Donovan for joining us. It's been a long time coming, man. We've been trying to get this done for a while. So I really appreciate you, especially doing it during the season. Channing Crowder, Fred Taylor, I'm Ryan Clark. Welcome to The Pivot, a part of Fanatics. Pivot fam, thank you for pivoting with us. Man, we've got an opportunity to see so many of your highs, right? And your athletic feats that, you know, just truly amazing what you've accomplished in the league. All rookie team, five-time All-Star, All-NBA Team. So I'm gonna start in a different place. I want you to take me back to December 31st, 2016. We talk about pivots on this show all the time.

• 3:41Ryan Clark?

  So I'd like to start with you telling us about why that night was such a pivotal time in your life.

• 3:48Speaker 04

  You do your homework, man. That's a. I don't think many people know about that one. That was when I, I'm assuming, that's 26 years before I got drafted. I got benched that game. That's the first time in my college career when I was starting. I got benched, playing terribly. I think we had games against like Virginia before that. Got smacked, didn't play well, running after practice. And I got benched. And Coach P was just like, man, like you ain't, you ain't hooping. Like, you know what I mean? And that was probably like, I've had some coaches, I'm like playing, grew up playing New York City basketball. You have coaches that yell and scream, you know what I'm saying? But like for him, I think he, he takes the cake. Like he's the top. And he was just like, flat out, you ain't, you ain't hoop. And so for me, coming into that game, we're playing in Indiana, in Bakersfield House, against Indiana.

• 4:31Speaker 04

  Felt like a home game for them, but like Louisville, Indiana always split. And I'm sitting here just like, man, like I can't believe I'm out here. That's the whole talk of it. Like dominate, starting, dominate, starting, whatever. And I'm the leading scorer too. So it ain't like I'm a role player at the time. So I'm, and then I get out there, had my career high, had probably my best game of my college career, I think. At that point, I feel like that's when things started to shift. Like, I'm starting to hoop. And now, our point guard Quinn Snyder gets hurt, and now I'm the point. And now I'm the one with the ball in the hands, making the plays. And I go on like an eight, nine game stretch that really put me on the scene to being drafted. But that night, that was, that New Year's, that was the day. Called my mom, I was like, man, like I don't even, I don't even know what, like what's happening. Like, you know what I'm saying?

• 5:14Speaker 04

  Just because I'd always been the underdog and I never like the starter to, to go into the bench. That does something to you. I mean, like I'm pretty sure we've all had something like that, that does something to you. And he just lit a fire. And like outside of, after that, it was, it was no turning back.

• 5:28Channing Crowder?

  Now you older, now you can see it. Do you know what it was? Or just when you have struggles? Cause we have bad games. Do you know what, can you figure out what that thing is?

• 5:35Speaker 04

  You have a struggle, but I think also like, every coach, and I give Coach P a lot of credit. He knows how to push a button for a player. Every, every good coach, I feel like knows how to get the best out of you, the best out of you. And it may be best out of you, maybe three different ways. For me, it's like, I don't like positive reinforcement. Like I, I tell me that all the time, like, I'd tell Kenny that now, like, he'd be like, "Man, great." And I'm like, "Kenny, I don't, I appreciate it, because I hear it, I'm here, I'mma see it on Twitter, I'mma see it on IG, everybody in my family's gonna tell me how great I am, I don't, I don't like that." But like, for me, I feel like that, it was kinda how I respond. I respond to shit like that, like, "All right, bet." Like, "You not hooping, you sitting down, like, "All right, bet, I got you." And then from there, like, that's just been always me. I don't know why.

• 6:16Speaker 04

  I mean, I just have always been like, I've always been, I've always been like, something has to like, you know, "Yeah, you good, but", like, you know what I'm saying? And I feel like that was one of those, like, "Yeah, you good, but like, nah, you're not doing your job." And then, it just clicked.

• 6:28Fred Taylor?

  You mentioned your mom. What was that conversation like with her, when you told her what was going down?

• 6:33Speaker 04

  You know, when you playing, you feel like, it was bad, but it wasn't that bad, like, you know what I'm saying? Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, you be like, "Man, like, ma, like, I, I don't know, like, you know what I mean?" And on top of that, playing for Coach P ain't easy, you know, and anybody that plays for Coach P in his time, Kentucky, at Louisville, St. John's, whatever, Iona, they all can attest to this, like, sometimes he'd be like, "Man, like, I'm not tripping, there's no way I'm, there's no way I'm this trash." Like, you know what I'm saying? But like, there's no way. But like, that's his way of motivating people. So like, you call your mom, basically for sympathy, to be like, "Nah," like, to hear the, the positive reinforcement, because you so used to hearing, you know what I mean? So I think that was really what that conversation was like, more sort of, deep down, you know, you're kinda searching for somebody to be like, "No, you're still, you're still good."

• 7:18Ryan Clark?

  Miss Patino, by the way.

• 7:19Speaker 04

  Well, Coach Patino.

• 7:20Ryan Clark?

  For people who, for people who don't know, we didn't, we don't hoop, so we didn't get to play for Coach P. But what's funny about that is, you mentioned not loving positive reinforcement, or being sort of motivated by that. Is that because you couldn't, you tried to flub your way through the "I have a dream" speech, and you couldn't hoop?

• 7:40Speaker 04

  Yo, where do you get, where do you get all this information from?

• 7:43Ryan Clark?

  Don't worry about it, dawg. I just wanna know, can you tell, can you do the middle part now? Because you say you had the, you had the beginning and the end, do you know the middle part now?

• 7:52Speaker 04

  I don't know the whole speech right now, I'll tell you that right now. I'm shocked that you know that. Not many people know that. My mom barely knows that. I, we took public speaking, for people that don't, we took public speaking from 3rd grade, I went to private school, so 3rd grade all the way up to 9th grade, and, I think it was like 6th, 7th grade, and I just... Maybe like two, three days before, I'm a procrastinator. I'm like, I'm good, I got it. It's Martin Luther, Martin Luther King speech. Like it's, all you gotta think is I have a dream and you, you good, right? So that's all I'm thinking. I get the first paragraph and the last. And the middle part, I'm kinda like, I could kinda figure my way out. You know what I'm saying? But as long as I got the beginning, as long as I got the end, I could kinda find my way through. Little did I know, my teacher had the script, so she already knew, she reading it with me.

• 8:34Speaker 04

  And then on top of that, I, I think I went from paragraph two to paragraph four, back up to paragraph three, and then finished the end. And my mom, boy, and my mom was a teacher at the school, so like I wasn't, you know, when you were a kid, you didn't get away with everything. My mom not, my mom knows everything that was happening. She knows every teacher. I tried to get away with that, but man, that was, um, I gotta say, I'm shot, I'm, I'm, that's impressive. Cause that's, that's, that's a, that's a deep, that's a deep one. I tried to keep tucked away, cause that's not what I'm.

• 9:00Ryan Clark?

  Wasn't that sort of though, like the perfect parallel, man, between the worlds? You had to learn to navigate, like being a young, black man from New York that hoot, in that atmosphere, which we all know, when you think about New York guards, right? They stand alone in the basketball pantheon, but also going to Greenwich, also going to Brewster, right? Having to navigate those two worlds. How did that experience sort of shape who you are now and the way you move?

• 9:29Speaker 04

  I think that allowed me to see the difference in the world. That allowed me to see the cultural difference in the world and what we going through now as a world. You know, the separation, the hate, the, the, the uneducatedness of both sides, like not knowing, like, you know what I'm saying? I think white, black, Asian, Hispanic. I'm a big advocate on education, because at the end of the day, I don't know you halfway from Sunday, because I don't, I haven't researched you. I haven't, like you researched that question, you know that question. Like I know about your history, I know about your past. You don't do that in education, because on top of that, we don't pay our teachers enough. That's a whole nother discussion. My mom's a teacher, I'm passionate about that, but like for me, growing up, you know, like, you code switch. Like, I'm in the city, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, New York City, and then I'm in Greenwich, Connecticut, Monday through Friday.

• 10:12Speaker 04

  So trying to learn how to do that and navigate that at the age of. What, nine, 10, 11, all the way up to 16? That really told, showed me the differences. Like, I go, you know, play basketball in the city apartments. You know, everything's tight, everything's in the urban community. And then I go to school and there's 25 million dollar mansions where I'm hanging out, you know, with my friends. That's the motivation factor, but I saw the differences in life. And for me, now that I am who I am and I have the platform I am, I realized like, man, you know, us as black people, we don't see that on a daily basis. I do a lot of stuff at the school that I went to, you know, bringing black and brown kids to the school on scholarship through basketball. So they understand like, yo, you don't have to just hoop. You don't have to just play football. You don't have to just be a rapper. Like, there's so many other avenues.

• 10:56Speaker 04

  I tell everybody all the time, I'm going to spring break, I'm going to tournaments to play basketball. My friends, and this is eighth, ninth grade, my friends going to intern at Goldman Sachs. Like, you know what I'm saying? So there's, they're doing that in eighth grade. You know what I mean? I'm just figuring out about Goldman Sachs after I get my first contract. Like, you know what I'm saying? I'm 20 years old, like, you know what I mean? So like, there's a, there's six, seven, eight, nine, 10 year differences in this world for us. So like, for me, that was really what shapes me to be do a lot of my, my stuff off the floor. Just because I'm like, man, there's so much that I can provide with my platform. Especially for us in the community, being able to bring us and show us like, yo, this, this 30 minutes away. Like, it ain't like we opposite sides of the country, it's 30 minutes down the street. You know what I'm saying?

• 11:40Speaker 04

  So that's kind of been my, my biggest thing.

• 11:42Channing Crowder?

  And off the court, I understand, you know what I'm saying, your passion. But then even on the court, like, you playing dudes trying to play ball to make it.

• 11:47Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 11:48Channing Crowder?

  Your dad worked for the Mets for two decades. Your mom's a private school teacher. Like, did you ever have anything growing up where it was like you didn't, almost not fit in with the dudes that were out there balling to make it out of the hood?

• 11:59Speaker 04

  It was almost like, um, you call it like imposter syndrome in a sense. And I'm black, like, you know what I'm saying? But you also feel like there's, that you from the suburbs, but you're not from the city. You know what I mean? Everybody, if you tell anybody from New York, ah, you're not from New York City. Like, you know, you're from upstate. You know what I mean? So for me, it was like trying to navigate that you, you're not. White enough to be with the white kids, you're not black enough to be with the black kids. So you're in that little middle ground. You know what I mean? I know there are a lot, growing up now and being older. I grew up in that ground. So you know what I mean? I know there are a lot of people that understand what I'm saying. Which was, I was uncomfortable to speak on that at first, like when I was growing up. Cause you don't really understand. But being in the city, there's a level of hunger that I developed from being around it. My teammates, from being around it. That's what really shaped me. Cause I was a baseball player. I didn't want to play basketball. I was like, shoot, I'm cool. My dad worked for the Mets.

• 12:42Speaker 04

  I'm out here with Pedro Martinez, Carlos Pacheco. I'm, this is what I'm doing. You know what I mean? Basketball's kind of like, I'm with my friends, whatever. But when you in the, you in the hood and you hooping every single weekend, that's where really my hunger came from. And then also you got, as I grew up, I became more secure in who I am and not really tripping on that. But that's, that's a thing that kids, you know, really go through. And we really don't speak on, to be honest. But that was definitely, like you said, you're hooping with kids that need to make it. And I wasn't well off, don't get it twisted, but like I wasn't, you know, if I didn't make the NBA, like I wasn't, you know, I was, I was gonna be okay. You know what I'm saying? So that's why I do what I do, because I've seen it. I've seen kids like that need to make it and they're like, man, I gotta be this. And I'm like, man, let me try to put you in this situation, around this group of people,

• 13:25Speaker 04

  so you understand like, yo, there's other ways to be successful in this world than just one of 450 or one of, I don't know how many NFL players there are. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, there's, there's limited jobs there. You know what I'm saying? So like, there's other ways to be successful in life. And just try to, you know, put kids in the right positions.

• 13:41Fred Taylor?

  How did that help your, your transition to Louisville, Kentucky, of all places?

• 13:46Speaker 04

  It wasn't that hard for me. I mean, I think, because you know how it is when you hooping, when you're with your teammates. That's who you with, for real. Like, you're really in a bubble, like in a sense. So you're not really, and everybody's, at the end of the day, no matter white, black, everybody's worshiping you because you won the basketball team. So I really didn't. And that's cool, sure. You know what I mean? Especially at Louisville. Like, there's no NBA team, there's no NFL team, it's just us. You know what I mean? Us and Lamar. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, that was it. So like, it really didn't, it wasn't really different for me because it was like, you just, you can't, the only difference was, was like, I'm starting to become famous. Like, you know what I'm saying? That's when you realize, all that stuff, you know, gets pushed to the side because of who you are. And then that's when I started to see like, Nah, like I'm still black, like I'm still who I am and you know, like still whatever.

• 14:31Speaker 04

  You know what I mean, but you just get, it gets pushed over because like, oh, you're good because you're famous. But I'm like, what about the person that ain't? You know what I mean? And what about that person that's not? That had, that, you know, you giving them that same pass? You know, if I'm getting pulled over for a ticket, am I getting that same pass? You know what I'm saying? So, I love Louisville. It's a great time. Um, I talk about it all the time. I loved everything about it. I appreciate everything on there. But I think over there, it really didn't, it didn't have an effect on me per se as much. It allowed me to see, but it didn't really have an effect in that regard. Just because when you're famous, as y'all know, when y'all are famous, you know, there's just different, you're treated differently.

• 15:04Fred Taylor?

  Right. Was the basketball and the football teams tight?

• 15:07Speaker 04

  Yeah, yeah. We would go have dunk contests in the practice facility. And then that was when Lamar, Lamar and I were a freshman class together. Um, Jair Alexander was there.

• 15:17Fred Taylor?

  Crazy, right?

• 15:18Speaker 04

  Crazy, too. Sheldon Rankin, he was there. Um, my boy from the Texans was there too. I didn't realize there was that many football players from Louisville until I started watching. They say, I'm like, oh, okay, I was in class with him. But it was pretty dope just to be able to be, you know, we didn't know what we had at the time. We didn't know who we were at the time. We just out here just hooping and having a good time. But we were definitely cool. And that was when Louisville football really, I feel like, took off.

• 15:40Ryan Clark?

  I remember it like it was yesterday. My son, the biggest Lamar fan. It's when they played Auburn in like that Peach Bowl Classic before the season. They had a different starting quarterback, but they ended up putting Lamar in the game. And my son came running from his room and he was like, damn, I just seen the best football player I've ever seen in my life. And you know, I was like, all right, bro, go ahead. And then the next year, he comes along and he wins the Heisman. This year, bro, Lamar Jackson is playing the best football he's ever played in his life. When you know a person and you've seen a person grow, like it's a different feeling. When you watch Lamar Jackson play now, what are your like feelings and thoughts on that?

• 16:20Speaker 04

  The only thought I can think of, man, is the kid that was laying on the table and his mom was right next to him. You know what I mean? Because people, people were trying so hard and y'all remember this, and I don't know the details of it, but I remember all they kept saying was he's a running back. He was running back or he was receiver, like he was not, he was not a quarterback. And that's all they kept saying. And I'm, I'm sitting here watching like, man, they ridicule everything he does, everything. They're ridiculing him, ridiculing him. And obviously, his playoff success hasn't been what we all wanted to be. And I think that'll definitely change, but like. Two MVPs, I didn't win the third, and this is the same kid that was laying down. I'd never forget the draft room picture. And he said, "They're gonna get a Super Bowl out of me." And I believe that, like, you know what I mean? And I think to be able to see him basically be like, "Fuck all that, like, I'm gonna just work."

• 17:05Speaker 04

  You know what I'm saying? Like, because when you get to that level, when you win MVP once, you can be like, "All right, I'm cool." Like, to do it twice, and then on top of that, to have your best season after the second one? Like, you know what I'm saying? That just, to me, as an athlete alone, that just shows a level of drive. Because you could have easily been like, "I've already, I've already proved y'all wrong. I'm good." You know what I'm saying? But it's like more and more and more. And that's what I respect about him the most. Because this is the same kid. That's the only thing I remember him coming out the draft. Because he wasn't even a quarterback. And he's one of the best, he's been the best player in football twice. And it better be the third time. You know what I mean? So like, I respect that about him, his work ethic. And I'm praying he gets that championship at some point, man. He definitely deserves it, for sure.

• 17:44Channing Crowder?

  Were you talking about yourself?

• 17:46Speaker 04

  What do you mean, hey?

• 17:46Channing Crowder?

  Doesn't that sound very similar to what you doing?

• 17:50Speaker 04

  Besides the MVPs, I gotta give Lamar his credit on that, the back-to-back ones.

• 17:53Channing Crowder?

  You gotta go for the MVPs, and now, yeah, the best record in the league and all that stuff.

• 17:56Speaker 04

  Yeah, I mean, like, you know, at the end of the day, winning cures everything. You know, when you, you win, everything else takes care of itself. You know what I mean? I told, when we were talking to Kenny about it, just like, look, like, whatever it takes to win, you know, I've, I've been All-NBA, I've been an All-Star. Like, the individual shit is cool, but like, I haven't made a conference finals or a finals. So whatever it takes to get there, you know what I mean? By any means necessary. And people always talk about sacrifices that come with that. I'm cool with that. Like, you know, it's because at the end of the day, you're judged on championships, right, wrong, or indifferent. Like, you know what I mean? I don't think that's, I, as a player, I don't think that's fair. Because there are a lot of great players who haven't won. But like, at the end of the day, that's what you're judged off of. So who am I to get upset if people don't look at me in a certain light?

• 18:40Speaker 04

  Because I haven't have gotten to that, you know what I mean? So I can use as motivation. But at the end of the day, like... Got to continue to build and it's not just myself. It's not like a one man show. It's a team thing and that's what you, you know, obviously we 12-0. I don't want to date where we at.

• 18:54Ryan Clark?

  Nah, we good. We absolutely right though. Like, you know, you're in this position of being 12-0 and you talked about like how championships are the big thing. And you don't feel it's fair, but in 2018, I think it was the Rockets, you know? And you said when you guys got back to the airport, like the Jazz fans were cheering for y'all because y'all had kind of overachieved. And you mentioned that there were no moral victories, right? So it's the same thing for Lamar. It's not a moral victory in getting the MVP. If you don't win it all, this team is off to an historic start. 12-0 is the best start in Cavs history. This is the LeBron James Cavaliers as well.

• 19:37Ryan Clark?

  What is it about this team that is allowing you guys to gel so quickly under Coach Atkinson? That's giving you the opportunity to succeed the way you are?

• 19:49Speaker 04

  We live in a world where it's like, if it don't work, you gotta break it up. You gotta switch, someone gotta switch, someone gotta switch. You know what I mean? Like when you, you bring a team back that's been with each other for two years and give Kobe Altman credit. You know, obviously trading to get me, sticking with it, believing in the group and obviously us believing in ourselves. Like every year we've grown, you know, we've got the first round and we got second round and like, you know? So the goal is like for us, we understand like each other. You know, when you in the locker room with guys from more than two years or more than one year, I know what you're like on the daily basis. I know your work habits. I know what gets you motivated. I know when you tired. I know, like I know everything about you. So it's like I, you want to be able to, you can have that conversation. I can talk to you differently the way I talk to you, the way I talk to you and be comfortable in all three conversations and get the same message across.

• 20:34Speaker 04

  You know what I'm saying? I think when you see that with this group, we, first of all, we vibe with each other, which I think is always great. You know, there's no. Ego, egos are checked at the door. You know what I mean? And obviously, we haven't lost a game yet. So there's been no adversity necessarily to hit. But like, I think for us, I'm not really, we had adversity last year. I was out for like 15 games. DG was out for 20 games. Evan was out for 20 games. Like, we've shown like who we are, you know? And I have no doubt when adversity hits, we're gonna be, continue to get closer. But like, it's easier when you're with a group that you rock with. But also, like, at the end of the day, you know, Coach Atkinson's been phenomenal with his message of continuing to play with pace, be selfless, play team basketball. And I think that's really what it's gonna continue to take. But like I said, we have, it's only been 12 games.

• 21:19Speaker 04

  I mean, right, wrong, or indifferent, it's only been 12 games. And that's my message to the guys. This is great, we're having a historic start, but like, this shit don't matter right now. You know what I'm saying? We're building good habits, and I think that's the best part. But at the end of the day, all that matters is what we do after All-Star break.

• 21:33Fred Taylor?

  Dee, I wanna switch subjects real quick. I see a whole lot of the tunnel shots, right? And you always fresh.

• 21:40Fred Taylor?

  So I'd expected you to have on the Adidas, the Tropicals right now, the Panamas. Because of the color scheme with the Marys, be super dope and all of that. Like, what's going on today?

• 21:50Speaker 04

  I ain't gonna lie, this is straight off the plane. This is like-

• 21:52Fred Taylor?

  It's dope.

• 21:53Speaker 04

  It's straight off the plane.

• 21:53Fred Taylor?

  I like the pants, I love the hoodies, I'm a hoodie man. But I was looking for the Tropicals, bro, the Panamas.

• 21:57Speaker 04

  I know, I know. I'll get you, make sure I get y'all a pair too. I know y'all got some Nikes on, we're gonna make sure-

• 22:01Fred Taylor?

  Hey, you gotta talk about that, though. Yeah, no, I wasn't shooting for that, but no, we appreciate it. Man, get up, yeah. It's free, we take three, one, two, three. Oh, no, but seriously, I do wanna speak to that Panama. I know your grandmother.

• 22:14Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 22:14Fred Taylor?

  September 6, 2020. You posted an inspirational message to her, heartfelt message, the day before your birthday. How tough was that? And you said you wouldn't be here without her.

• 22:27Speaker 04

  Yeah, so she's, I'm second generation. Yeah, second generation in this country. My mom, or, excuse me, third. My mom, my grandmother's first, she came over, my mom's second, and then I'm third. My grandmother came over here from Panama, didn't know nobody.

• 22:43Speaker 04

  Came out here and was like, I'm gonna find a way to make it in this country for my family. Didn't know what she was gonna do, had no money, just came over on a boat. And that was it, you know what I'm saying? And, you know, for her to have three children, my aunt, my mom, and then my uncle, and then to continue to push them, and ultimately turn into my mom, who's now pushing me with the same drive. And now like, look what legacy she's left, you know what I'm saying? Like, in three generations, you know what I mean? Like, we're not here without her. Like, I'm not here without her. I lived with her for probably the first ten years of my life. We lived in the same apartment building. And it was just like, man, like, you just don't, like, you don't, you don't lose that.

• 23:27Speaker 04

  Blossom was her name, God rest her soul, I love you, Grandma, but like, you just don't lose that. Like, that determination, that hunger, that takes that, that... There's a lot of nerves, like, there's a lot, you don't know what's going on. And to be able to go out there and leave your country, where you, where everybody you know. Imagine everybody, like, imagine if you're watching this, you leave America, and you go, I don't know, Austria, for, for example. You don't know nobody over there, but you wanna make a better life for your family. Like, that's, that's, it's a lot of fear, you know what I mean? There's a lot, there's a lot of things you don't know necessarily what's gonna happen, a lot of, you gotta figure a lot of things out. And for her to not only do it, do it right, raise three great children, have great-grandchildren, you know what I mean? Like, that's something to me that, you know, when I made the shoes, I wanted, I wanted to make sure I go to Panama,

• 24:11Speaker 04

  to see where she's from, to pay my respects, to also make sure I'm continuing to develop a connection with Panama, because I'm not here, you know what I mean? Like, I didn't expect, I tell everybody this all the time, I didn't expect to be Donovan Mitchell. Never did, I, I, I stand by that story, this was not part of the plan. I was supposed to go to private school, get a good education, that's it, you know what I mean? Like, so for me to be here, you know, like, this is, wanted to show you how God works. I'm a big believer in that, but like, it all started with a dream. And a dream on a boat and praying. You know what I mean? They're making better life for her family. And you know, thank God, you know, we're here.

• 24:45Fred Taylor?

  I'm a grandma's boy too, man. I always say, I gotta give her the credit. Cause without her, certainly wouldn't be no me. She pushed me. She was way tougher than my mom. I love my mom to death. But it's that my grandmother, man. What I lost her a year ago.

• 24:59Speaker 04

  Okay.

• 25:00Fred Taylor?

  So it just created this new sense, this new drive for me. So I credit her to everything. And hopefully one day, whenever the NFL decides to call me the cat, if they do. I mean, I just cannot wait to just kinda, you know, have that conversation again with her. Yeah, that's my baby.

• 25:20Channing Crowder?

  Fellas, let's talk NBA big threes with the NBA season rolling right now. For me, I'm gonna go with Jordan, Pippen and Rodman, simply because Jordan is a part of it.

• 25:27Speaker 05

  So I'm gonna have to go with Magic, Worthy and Kareem, the original Lakers. I mean, all those guys was big bodies. They dominated and they made the Lakers what they are.

• 25:34Channing Crowder?

  Listen, man, all bigs, y'all forgot LeBron, Wade and Bosch. You got the big in Bosch. You got Wade in the guard. You got Bron Bron play all five if you want to. Y'all gotta go Heat.

• 25:41Speaker 05

  Another big three is from Fanatics Sportsbook.

• 25:43Channing Crowder?

  They're boosting three leg NBA player props throughout the season. It's called the Big Three Boost.

• 25:47Speaker 05

  But you gotta download the app and be on the lookout for when the next one drop.

• 25:50Channing Crowder?

  And bruh, speaking about the shoes and the decisions you make, you know, with marketing and different things like that. I just saw you have naked online somewhere.

• 26:03Channing Crowder?

  I was waiting.

• 26:04Fred Taylor?

  I knew it was gonna be him.

• 26:06Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, man. You, like, did you say, I wanna wear drawers in front of everybody? You know, what was the decision? I saw you was oiled up. I could tell you had your baby oil all on, like. Well, how did the conversation go? You say, yeah, I'm gonna get naked in front of these bachelors.

• 26:20Fred Taylor?

  Oh, man.

• 26:24Fred Taylor?

  Honestly, that was my first time ever doing something like that. They asked me if I wanted to do it. And I'm like, I'm like, sure. You know, like, why not? You know what I mean? And then you don't realize, one, you don't realize the exposure. Like, yeah, you know, but you don't know the exposure until you, well, here we are, talking about it. You know what I'm saying? Like, you know what I'm saying? But like, two, in the moment, it's like.

• 26:43Speaker 04

  Six, seven people in here, probably like 10 people and it's just you in your drawer. Like that was, that to me, I had me like a glass of wine, I had to like calm down. I mean, like I had to like, but that was, it was, it was, it was a fun experience. I had fun. My friends, everybody called me about it. My mom got a good laugh out of it. She like, she like, yo, what are you doing? You know what I'm saying? But it was great. Like, you know, I mean, it's comfortable too. I mean, I'm not just saying this because I, I, I be wearing it, but I actually like wearing skins. I got, I wear them all the time and whatnot, but like, that was a, that was a new one for me. I ain't gonna lie to you.

• 27:15Speaker 04

  Yeah, that was a new one for sure.

• 27:16Channing Crowder?

  That was new. Did you get?

• 27:20Channing Crowder?

  Did you meet up a little bit?

• 27:21Speaker 04

  Come on, bro.

• 27:22Channing Crowder?

  I go to the pool party, you know what I'm saying? You just gotta get, you know, a little blood flowing a little bit just to show something off in the show.

• 27:29Speaker 04

  So you doing, you doing pushups?

• 27:30Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, you know what I'm saying? Get the blood flowing just so, yeah.

• 27:35Channing Crowder?

  And then once I get in the water, I don't like getting back out because now.

• 27:40Channing Crowder?

  I ain't got nothing for you, but I had something before I got in the water.

• 27:43Fred Taylor?

  That's crazy, Chan, you mentioned that, but you said he was comfortable. So it, it, it made me think of the conversation that you see going around now about, you know, guys talking about the reporters in the locker room and being in their space and all of that. Like, did you ever, like, are you uncomfortable in that situation? I know you weren't.

• 28:01Speaker 04

  I mean, all the reporters I've been around and maybe I haven't, I've seen what guys have talked about and I, I, I haven't personally gone through that, you know what I mean? But I feel like it was, it was weird for certain guys that came in during COVID because there was nobody in the locker room. So then they had people come in the locker room. I think that's when it became weird, but I was in the league before COVID when that was the norm. You know what I'm saying? Like, y'all know, like, you know what I'm saying? So I haven't personally gone through that. I think if that's the case, then they should be fired and up out of there quickly. Because at the end of the day, like, yeah, they got a job to do, but we got, like, we got a livelihood. Like, we gotta sit, chat, talk, like, you know what I mean? Bullshit, whatever we talk in the locker room, like, be able to be comfortable and not have to, to have to worry about that. But I haven't had none of that go, go through with me at all.

• 28:42Channing Crowder?

  That's a thing that I think people.

• 28:44Ryan Clark?

  See differently, right? People being in your space in that manner. And that's our space.

• 28:49Speaker 04

  Right.

• 28:50Ryan Clark?

  So you definitely want to be comfortable in that space. Whether you're with your teammates or the media is involved. And obviously Chan mentioned your opportunity.

• 28:59Speaker 04

  Hey man, shake what your mama gave you.

• 29:01Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, he wanted to know, did you create a chubby before you walked out?

• 29:04Speaker 04

  I didn't say no chubby.

• 29:06Ryan Clark?

  Whatever it was.

• 29:07Speaker 04

  I said you got to meet up a little bit.

• 29:08Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, but you know, you mentioned you didn't expect to be this Donovan Mitchell. Right? Being this Donovan Mitchell puts you in places and in front of people and gives you a reach that you wouldn't have if you weren't Donovan Mitchell. And so that also means like your dating pool increases. You know, you can go from like Donovan, who got to date the chick that just be in New York, to like Donovan who can create, you know, have a celebrity relationship. How different is it though to have a very private thing in your life that you're used to being private now be of public interest to people?

• 29:44Speaker 04

  I'm more of it is what it is. Like at the end of the day, I, I understand it. I don't always like it, but I understand it because at the end of the day, like you work so hard to accomplish these certain things. Like that's part of what comes with it. Dennis Rodman said something on The Last Dance that always stuck out to me. He was like, we get, we don't get paid all this money for what we do on the floor. It's all the bullshit we got to deal with off of it. You know what I mean? Like that's, people don't understand, like we work hard, we all do, everybody, we work hard, but like there's so much that you can't do, you can't do, you can't do, that anybody else could walk around and do and be cool with. So for me, I've kind of gotten to that point where it's just like, shoot, man, everybody gonna have an opinion about something. Like I promise you tomorrow, whatever I do tomorrow, I'm gonna have to make some of people happy. You know what I'm saying? Or they can be pissed off they lost $20 on a parlay.

• 30:29Speaker 04

  Like you know what I'm saying? Like it's just, it just is what it is. But yeah, man, that's, that's, I'm happy.

• 30:35Ryan Clark?

  You were brought up that education was first though. And you got an opportunity to, you know, maybe see your mom, deal with some hard times. And I think I read you walked out to the car one time because you left something and your mother was crying. Right? And she kept those things from you. But you also got to buy her a house. Right? In the neighborhood with all the other big homes you've seen. How did that single token of appreciation?

• 31:05Ryan Clark?

  Make you feel.

• 31:07Speaker 04

  I think you talked about it, doing it in the community that I grew up in, like I went to school in. Like being around those rich kids my whole life, it was a hurt, like a level of motivation. I text my mom one day and my dad in Louisville, and I was like, I don't know how I'm gonna do it. But y'all ain't gonna have to work again. I didn't know it meant this, but like, you know, I didn't know how. But that was my, that was a motivation that I had. So to not only buy my mom a house, but to be able to put her on the same street as like my friends' parents. Like, you know what I'm saying? To be able to myself live where my friends' parents live and like I live now. Like, you know what I'm saying? It's like, that's what you do this for. You know what I mean? You do it for what you do on the floor and all that and take care, but like you do it for those life, you know, moments.

• 31:51Speaker 04

  You work so hard your whole life, the third grader in me, the fourth grader in me is like, holy shit, like, this is me. Like, I did it. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, it just is like one of those things that being able to do that for, not just myself, but like my moms? Like, taking care of moms when, like I said, we, Carman, you know, she's gonna hate that I say this. Carman repo, like, you know what I'm saying? Like, different things going on, like, whatever, like, to be able to take care of her in that, in that regard. Not only that, but in the same community that we were all in, where we all didn't have, and we watched everybody else that had. And sometimes we going out to eat with friends, and I had to sit there and not say nothing, knowing damn well I ain't got no money for no food, like. But I don't say nothing, and so I'm not the weird kid, like, knowing that, and knowing that she knows that when she's dropping me off to go hang with my friends.

• 32:34Speaker 04

  Hanging, dropping my sister off, knowing they're all going on a shopping spree, spending whatever, and she probably gets one shirt. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, if that, you know what I mean? Like, to be able to put my family in that position, in the same group where we felt. I don't want to say we felt less than, but you feel, you feel different, you know, it's, it's natural, you feel that. So be able to be like, nah, like, we here, like, you know, I mean, we here too, you know what I mean? We work for this, you know what I mean? Like, I think that's just something that really means a lot to me, because that, only that, like, they sacrificed for me. I sacrificed too, but like. My mom and sister sacrificed. My sister, you know, you go to hang with, you know how girls are like hanging with their friends, hanging at the parties, go meet guys, like all these different things. She sacrificed that to drive to Philly, to drive to Jersey, to drive to New York,

• 33:15Speaker 04

  to drive wherever we at, to follow me, not knowing that this was the plan. Like, you know what I'm saying? So who am I not to be able to make sure she has everything she ever wants? Because that sacrifice right there is why we ended up to be in this position. And obviously, my mom driving 14 hours to Louisville for an unofficial visit just to make sure I'm cool. Like, you know what I mean? I think that's something that never goes unnoticed.

• 33:39Fred Taylor?

  Talk about the Donovan Mitchell Family Athletic Center.

• 33:42Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 33:42Fred Taylor?

  You built that as well. How did that make you feel once it was all?

• 33:46Speaker 04

  That was similar. That was like one of those moments where, that was probably the only one where I really like almost broke down and cried. Like, I don't really cry. And so for me, at that school where I went, to be able to not only, like I said, give scholarships to black and brown children through basketball, that don't necessarily have the financial means to get to the school. But now, like, yo, this is what you get. Like, this is a part of it. This be able to do this at that school, to be able to work with the school to continue to, you know, continue to just build, like build my legacy. Build a legacy that I believe in, what I think it should be. And that's through education. Yeah, basketball is a part of it, and that's what the gym is, but it's through education. You know, that school's one of the best schools in the country. And now I'm able to bring kids that look like me, grew up like me, and now they're able to play there?

• 34:31Speaker 04

  Like, you know what I mean? And now I'm there every summer? Like, you know what I mean? Like, imagine that access. Imagine they had access to you, you, you all summer. And I'd look at all summer, like that's it, like you have all the access. So that was something for me that was like, man, like that would really be amazing for me to do. And now that I have that, you know, and be able to do that, and I'm grateful, blessed by the man above for that, so.

• 34:53Fred Taylor?

  It's a big inspiration, yeah?

• 34:55Ryan Clark?

  We're excited to bring our Pivot fam an unbeatable discount with one of our favorite sponsors, SimpliSafe.

• 34:59Channing Crowder?

  We gonna watch out for y'all because that's what we do. So we bring you one of the steepest discounts of the year, 60% off. One of the safest systems out there. And the Pivot is exclusive, and it's exclusive to you, this deal. And now with the holidays coming, I remember a couple of years ago, man, they hit me from a Tahoe, took it right out of my garage. And I didn't feel safe at that time, I felt vulnerable. But now with SimpliSafe, I feel good knowing that through these holiday times, people knowing you off work, people know you traveling, that SimpliSafe got your back.

• 35:20Ryan Clark?

  SimpliSafe is introducing Active Guard Outdoor Protection, a breakthrough in home security that we're all super excited to add to our home.

• 35:25Channing Crowder?

  Hey man, see these old school systems? They only trigger after somebody's already gotten in your crib. They could have all your stuff by that point before anyone's even called to the house. And by then, the trauma has already begun for you and your loved ones. But with SimpliSafe Active Guard, crime can be stopped before it even happens.

• 35:39Speaker 05

  Using advanced AI technology and live monitoring agents, SimpliSafe cameras detect suspicious activity as soon as somebody steps on your property.

• 35:45Channing Crowder?

  Bruh, and agents, man, they can intervene immediately, not wait until they got your stuff, RC. They can right now, they can talk through the speaker, they can put on the spotlights, they can call the police, right there before they already take your stuff. And the coolest part about the AI, they can recognize familiar faces. If they don't recognize that face on that camera, now they can alert the authorities that somebody's on your property they're supposed to be there.

• 36:01Ryan Clark?

  And this means trusted visitors like family, neighbors, dog walkers, won't trigger false alarms. No other home security systems offer this type of home protection, either inside or outside your walls.

• 36:10Speaker 05

  And SimpliSafe requires no long-term contracts, earning your trust by keeping you safe every day. And the monitoring plans start at $1 a day with no hidden fees.

• 36:18Channing Crowder?

  And SimpliSafe is so cool, man, you can install it yourself or you can opt for professional installation, they got you. They winning awards, best home security system by US News and World Report. And they got the best customer service, recognized by Newsweek and USA Today.

• 36:29Ryan Clark?

  And don't forget, we've teamed up with SimpliSafe to offer an exclusive 60% discount on any home system by SimpliSafe. This deal won't last, so order now to claim your security system. And remember, there's no safe like SimpliSafe.

• 36:41Channing Crowder?

  And with all your success, Tess, you walked in the league balling just to move back to basketball. You just walked in, everybody off the bat, spider, which is fun, I love when white people say with the A on the end, it makes me giggle every time.

• 36:55Channing Crowder?

  Spider. See, that's not how, that's not how he said. But then, when the Jazz said, "This ain't working." And you knew, like, like you said, you knew Donovan Mitchell was. But then you see Gobert go, and he went for stupid. He went for five players, four ones. You went, what, for four ones as a player?

• 37:14Speaker 04

  Something like that, yeah.

• 37:14Channing Crowder?

  So they, like, they knew your value, but it was like, "This shit ain't working." Is there anything inside of All-Star's mind when, when an organization says, "Nah, we gonna, we gonna let you slide"?

• 37:26Speaker 04

  I didn't feel away because I feel like it was at a, at a time where you, you run its course. You know what I mean? Like, you have a window. You know, you have a window to capitalize. And then, you know, I thought we maybe could have had one more year. You know what I mean? That was kind of my thing, maybe one more year. But at the end of the day, like, we, can you, when you bring the same team and you have that championship window, like, there's a certain, you know, timeframe. Especially when we're all, like, Joe is 30 something, Rudy's 30 something, Boy, I'm like, 30 something, Mike's 30 something. Like, so everybody's, I'm like the youngest one. So like, that window of guys, it's natural. Like, you know, there's this ages as a thing. So, um, I don't, I don't blame them for, for what they did. I try to get the most back, um, for us.

• 38:08Speaker 04

  But I think, I definitely thought we could have had maybe one more year together, try to figure it out. But like, yeah, I think it was just, now looking back at it, I think it's just one of those things that just, we played really good basketball. We accomplished a lot of good things, but we just weren't able to. And then when we, the one year, I feel like we were able to get over that hump. I was hurt, Mike was hurt.

• 38:25Channing Crowder?

  Yep.

• 38:25Speaker 04

  We didn't have an opportunity. You know what I mean? So now, as an organization, you, you know, you, you find a way to pivot and, I mean, use it, you know, use it, but like, to pivot, like, to find a way to, um, to, to move on and try to recuperate, like, recoup all these, these different assets. So, um, but no, I don't, I don't have any feelings. I, I, I love my, my, my time there. Um, love playing, going back there, getting, you know, the love that I get. Uh, but no, I don't, I don't, I don't feel away. No, no. Maybe in the moment, for sure, but like, not, not no, not no more.

• 38:54Channing Crowder?

  Yeah. You come from an upbringing that winning was the ultimate thing. Think number one seed in '21, lose to the Clippers. And upset to the Knicks two years ago. You lose to the eventual champion, Boston Celtics, last year. From those losses...

• 39:11Ryan Clark?

  What have you been able to pull from those experiences that you believe can help you lead this Cleveland Cavaliers team now?

• 39:20Speaker 04

  You speak on the loss to the Knicks and the Celtics, like you look at the way we lost to the Knicks, we got out rebounded, out physical the whole series. Alright, cool, that's in our mind now. That wasn't a thought process for DG, Ev, Dean, Isaac, guys in their first playoff series. You don't know what you don't know until you go through it. Alright, bet, so that's not gonna happen again. In their mind, like, you know, as a competitor, I know them, like, we not, that's not gonna happen again. Cool. You get to the Orlando series where it was about the same type of physicality as New York, but now you're looking, alright, we taking, we go to seven games, we've been great to finish in like five or six for sure, but like, we go to seven, alright, cool, another learning lesson. Alright, this is what the, this was gonna take, cool. This is how you push through, down 20 in game seven, how do you not go home in the same first round twice? Cool.

• 40:05Speaker 04

  This is what, this is what it takes. Now, and then you, obviously you add Max Struce, we add George, you know what I mean? I've gotten better as well, JA has been phenomenal, Karis has been phenomenal, everybody's been phenomenal. And then you go to the Celtics series where we're all out, and now you're seeing the evolution of Evan Mobley. Like, you know what I mean? So like, I feel like those losses are necessary. I, I, I always feel like if you don't make it, like, there's something to learn in everything. There's learn through wins, but during those losses, you learn things. And I think what we saw from Ev was like, okay, you're ready, this is, you're ready for that step. Now, this is the summer to go get it. Like, this is the summer to go take that step. And what you're seeing now with Ev, and even during camp, we seen it, like, he's, it's a level, it's like an aggression. You know what I mean? It's like, and even with DG having the off year he had last year, like, there's a level of aggression.

• 40:49Speaker 04

  This is who DG's been. He just had a rough year last year coming in and out the lineup, but like, when you go through these losses, even myself, I don't mean just them, but like, with myself, you go through, you learn things. Alright, cool, you know, I've had great playoff performances, I've had 50s, I've had whatever. Alright, let me take a step back, let me see if I, cool, go ahead DG, cuz now they gotta respect you. Now they gotta respect you, Ev. They gotta respect you, Isaac, Dean, Karis, Max, George, whoever, Ty Jerome, like, you have all these different options, but I'm still who I am too. So like, I'm still gonna, you know what I'm saying? So like, you, you're able to, you know, and like I said, this is early, but I don't think I'm able to do that if we don't go through the Knicks series and lose and feel embarrassed, you know, and then lose to the Celtics and then Evan taking that step. Like, I think those are all necessary.

• 41:34Speaker 04

  And then in my Utah years... That just showed me like alright, there's more to be had. There's more for you. If you want to be this guy, there's another level to get to. And then you look at the bubble year. And then you look at things like that, that there's another level to take. So I think every player needs those losses. However bad they may feel, I think you need them in order to be able to take that next step.

• 41:54Ryan Clark?

  So no more 71s?

• 41:55Speaker 04

  I mean, like I said, I've still gotta be me at the end of the day. You know what I mean? If it's necessary, but if it's not, then...

• 42:00Ryan Clark?

  When you hot like that, right? I lied, okay, I'm not as good. I wasn't as good as Donovan in the basketball.

• 42:06Channing Crowder?

  It sounded like you've been hot like that.

• 42:08Ryan Clark?

  It was a lie, I was gonna say. But when that sort of night is happening, I don't know if there's an equivalent in football. Maybe days you've had Freddie T where you go for 200.

• 42:18Speaker 04

  71 is crazy.

• 42:19Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, like when you start to feel that and you've hooped your entire life, does that sort of night feel different to you when the ball's in your hand?

• 42:27Speaker 04

  It's gotten crazier now that I'm farther removed, if that makes sense. I think we're all in this room, we're all irrational. We're all irrational, that's why we are who we are and where we are. You know what I'm saying? Like we're all, we all think of ourselves as the greatest ever. That's what it should be. So in the moment, you do it, you're not, I'm not thinking 70 because we're down 20, first of all. So I'm like, how do we get back in this fucking game? Like, you know what I mean? And then we're there and then it's like, they take the lead. Alright, I gotta make a play. Alright, ball's going in, so I'm just gonna keep driving, getting to the free throw line. Like you're not thinking, oh shit, I got 60, I got 50. The only time I thought about it is when I had 69 at the free throw line. And I had a free throw to make 70 in 71. That was probably the only time where I was sitting there like, oh shit, like, I really might, you know what I'm saying? But like in the moment, you're just thinking, how do I win the game? You know what I'm saying?

• 43:10Speaker 04

  And I was talking, we were just talking about this like in the locker room, like a week ago. And it was like, man, 71 points is genuinely crazy because like I had 50 last year in the playoffs. You know, and I was exhausted, I was tired. And I'm sitting there just like, I had 21 more points in that game. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like that's when, I think now when you're farther removed from it, you're able to be like, oh shit, like that was, that was really like, you know what I mean, like a big, like a big night. You know what I mean? But in the moment, you're just like, shoot. I'm just like six more threes away that I could probably make six more threes. Like, you know what I mean? Because that's how you think, like, you know what I'm saying? But like, when you're really looking back at it, you're like, oh, OK, like, that's a lot. You know what I mean? But in the moment, you're just, how do I win the game?

• 43:53Speaker 04

  And it just, so when you get into that zone and you locked in, it ain't much no one else can really, really do at that point.

• 43:58Fred Taylor?

  Right. Seventy-one, career high is, that's ridiculous. You mentioned a fifty-point playoff game. You got numerous accolades. And there was a moment you had fifty-seven in the game, going back to your grandmother. Are there any accolades or moments that stand out more than others?

• 44:16Speaker 04

  Outside of the seventy-one-point game?

• 44:18Fred Taylor?

  Any moment? Because I know you spoke-

• 44:20Speaker 04

  In my NBA career.

• 44:21Fred Taylor?

  In your NBA career.

• 44:23Speaker 04

  I think the fifty-seven was special just because I knew I was talented. I knew I was a good scorer, but like, doing the fifty-seven, it was like, OK, I can really like, take it up a notch. You know what I'm saying? Like, I can really take it up a notch. And we lost the game. We all ended up losing the series. But like, for me, fifty-seven was like, ooh, alright, like, and this is without Mike, who was left for her baby. And then Boyan, obviously, was hurt. So our two other scoring threats were not here, and it was just me.

• 44:55Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 44:56Speaker 04

  And then that whole series for me really, really changed my life, like mentally. I was like, oh shit, like, I can, like, we going back and forth. Jamal scoring, I'm scoring. Jamal scoring, I'm scoring. I don't give a damn what you got going, I'm scoring. So we, like, we going back and forth. It really changed me and like, like, it really, I knew I belonged, but like, that one was more like, you really belong, belong, and this is who you are. Just sharpening your tools a little bit more, but like, this is, this is what you do.

• 45:21Channing Crowder?

  And bro, you talk about seventy-one. Watched that, saw the fifty-seven, saw the fifty in the playoffs. I want some money on you. You scored thirteen in the first quarter a couple of games ago. But, uh, but every time I see you on TV, you do interviews, you got glasses on. No prescription?

• 45:38Speaker 04

  Yes, sir. Can't see.

• 45:40Channing Crowder?

  You wear contacts in the game?

• 45:42Speaker 04

  No, I do not.

• 45:42Channing Crowder?

  What you shooting at? What are you aiming for? Because how in the fuck you can't see that rim? And you doing that? You don't wear no contacts on that?

• 45:49Speaker 04

  I don't wear no contacts. It's crazy because like, I wore my first year in Cleveland, I wore contacts during the preseason and practice. And what I learned was the depth perception. Since everything's so clear, everything looks so close. So I'm shooting shit like, all right, this cash, air ball, short. All preseason, like I'm throwing passes, knocking, I can see everything perfectly with the contacts in. But I just can't hit anything. As soon as I take them out, I bet we good. Like when I walk into a gym, if I shoot, like if I pull up to any like random game, and I'll shoot with the kids and I'll be like, ah, and I'll take them off to start shooting. Just because my muscle memory for so many years has been without glasses, without being able to see.

• 46:31Speaker 04

  So I tell like, I tell everybody, I'm like Bron, I'm just shooting at three rims and trying to figure it out. Whatever, whatever's up there.

• 46:37Ryan Clark?

  Bron was lying.

• 46:38Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 46:38Ryan Clark?

  Okay, like let's be, right? He had a, another night he had some dream, he was playing for Coach K, something he was lying into.

• 46:45Channing Crowder?

  He dropping 70, what if, what if he could see?

• 46:48Speaker 04

  No, but depth perception is a real thing.

• 46:51Ryan Clark?

  I do have a question. Do you still like Kenny Rogers? Because your mother said, just I do a lot of reading. Mother said that they used to clear the table for you so you can get on top of the table and dance. Right? And she said that you would dance to Kenny Rogers. Now, I ask this question because that Kenny Rogers is very important to this show. One time we're sitting with Deion Sanders and Kenny Rogers has a song called The Gambler.

• 47:13Speaker 04

  Oh my goodness.

• 47:13Ryan Clark?

  Right? And we're singing The Gambler and Deion starts singing, you gotta know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away, know when to run. Now, the next line is, you never count your money. And one of us three says loud as hell while singing, you gotta count your blessings.

• 47:33Speaker 04

  You gotta count your blessings, bro.

• 47:35Ryan Clark?

  You got to. You got to.

• 47:37Speaker 04

  Hey, I don't know where it came from, but that was God. It's always God. Count your blessings.

• 47:44Ryan Clark?

  My dog said, "You gotta count your blessings."

• 47:46Speaker 04

  Oh, man.

• 47:47Ryan Clark?

  That's wild. That's wild.

• 47:49Speaker 04

  That's the remix.

• 47:50Ryan Clark?

  Every time we sit with someone who's accomplished the things that you've accomplished and have been toward the top of the game, I always ask, "What's that next step for you?" And you mentioned how those losses and the things you learned in Utah propelled you to become a better leader, showed you some of the things you needed for the future. You mentioned the Knicks, the Boston Celtics. You talked about the start of this season. What is that next level for Donovan Mitchell if it's not the scoring, if it's not the individual accolades? What next step do you need to take to become who you want to become?

• 48:25Speaker 04

  Still be who I am, but modified a little bit. Being able to be sacrificing touches. And I think I give Kenny and the staff a lot of credit because it was like, this is what it's gonna take. You know what I mean? This is what the summer was like. Taking away, not taking away, sorry. Sacrificing a little bit there and pushing it to Evan, to DG, to the group. Because at the end of the day, everybody knows what I can do. But it's like, all right, how can we get everybody around to continue to go this way? You know what I'm saying? And I think that's what leaders do. You know what I mean? And I think that's something that you don't work on in the summer. You have to go through it. And what better way? I mean, I'm glad it's, you're getting instant gratification. You do it. You make a crazy change

• 49:09Speaker 04

  in what you've known in your career. And we're 12-0. So it's like God being like, shoot. You know what I mean? My baby right be right. But like, that's not always the case. And I would've felt the same way even if we were 3-9. Like, you know what I'm saying? But like, I feel like that's what these losses have shown me is like, you're good in your own right. Everybody else around you needs to continue to build and grow. And sometimes that just takes time. You know what I mean? Like, if you, you know how it is. If you do something a certain way. And I'm very routine, oriental. I'm very methodical. I'm very the same. Same, same, same. We all get comfortable in that space. But how are you allowing yourself to grow and be uncomfortable by allowing something that you haven't done in your whole career for real and allowing what everybody else around you to continue to uplift you? And also, I'm playing...

• 49:54Speaker 04

  Six less minutes, five less minutes on the year. And like this season, so it's like, this is the, this is the next step. How do I continue to be that leader? But also, when the time comes, shoot, I'm here. Like, I'm still, I'm still able to do my thing. And like I said, it's 12 games. We've done a great job, but like, when adversity hits, you've still gotta be that guy. You've still gotta be the guy that's willing to take, like willing to sacrifice. And that's with a group, that's not just a me thing, it's a group thing. Like, we still gotta be able to run to the corners, play with space, play with pace. I mean, continue to be that group defender at a high level when things aren't necessarily going right. The ball's not going in the rim, not revert back to old habits. But that starts with me. You know what I mean? So I think that's been my, my mental challenge is like, how do you, how do you continue to uplift everybody?

• 50:38Speaker 04

  Not to say that I haven't, it's just more so, even more so with this season.

• 50:42Ryan Clark?

  What did you learn during Rondo runs at Louisville? Like, having an opportunity? Like, we don't have that equivalent in football.

• 50:50Speaker 04

  I think that is crazy though. Like, I don't play...

• 50:52Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, every now and then, you'd have a guy come back. But if Fred Taylor comes back to LSU, I mean, to Florida or LSU, he ain't coming out there with us. Like, he might go run sprints with us, but you don't get to test your true skill against someone like him, who's a Hall of Fame talent. You got to do that while at Louisville. What did some of those runs teach you?

• 51:12Speaker 04

  How bad do you want it? Because they were at midnight, 1 a.m. Like, you know what I mean? You realize, there's only, I don't want to disrespect anybody on my team, I could be wrong. But like, I think three or four of us that did it? You know what I mean? Like, Rondo in there at 1 a.m., practices at 9:00, don't care, I'm there. You know what I mean? And it's funny, like, watching him continue to just work and work and work. You don't realize how much of an impact that has on you. Like, you know what I mean? I, I, every time I see him, I appreciate him, I thank him just because he allowed me into that space. You know what I'm saying? You know how we all are. Like, some guys just don't even allow guys into that space, let alone some college kid. Like, shoot, like, no, he's the loudest in the sport, playing with referees, playing pickup. And they all said they saw something.

• 51:55Speaker 04

  I don't think they all saw this, but I just really appreciate their, their approach to the work. I think everybody knows Rondo's probably... The most detailed film watcher in the league or in league history. Everybody says that. So it led to me in a bubble, watching him bring his laptop everywhere he went. So now I bring my iPad and laptop everywhere I go. Film everywhere, film on my phone, film everywhere. Like being able to have that relationship that I started at Louisville to where in the bubble, I can be able to be like, yo, why you got your laptop with you every day? Like why, like where does that come from? Like nah, you need to be, because at the end of the day, he's like, you, you gonna get old. Like you're not gonna be able to just practice and run around and jump. Like alright, cool, like how do I get better here? And I did it in college, you know, but you don't really know what you looking for.

• 52:40Speaker 04

  We all watch film and in college, you don't really know what you, unless the coach tells you, you watching yourself. Ball out. You know what I'm saying? You're not watching the bad games and then when you get to the league, I bet like, I need to watch the struggles. I need to watch, why, okay, why did this person guard me? Why am I, why am I struggling against this team? Why am I doing well against this team, putting that together? But for him to allow me into his space in Louisville, I appreciate and respect because that helped me from a mental standpoint, continue to take that step and also want that, like I said, that hunger, you want that, you know what I mean? He driving up in his blacked out Range over to the Paksos. I'm like nah, like, you know, you want that. Like you know what I'm saying? You want, it's a motivating thing, whether you speak on it or not, you, whatever, you're a product of your environment and what you're around and when you see that, it's like, you want that too.

• 53:23Fred Taylor?

  You mentioned your journey from Utah to Cleveland was a pivot in your life. And we always ask our guests, what's their biggest pivot? Which is that one, that one moment you can go look back on and say, without this happening, I wouldn't be who I am today.

• 53:38Speaker 04

  When I broke my wrist sophomore year of high school, I was a baseball player up until that moment. I was just a baseball player and my sophomore year, broke my wrist and one day I woke up and I was like, shoe, I'm trying to hoop. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like I'm just, I want to hoop and the next thing you know, I go from three, three or four Division one offers to 26, like that. And I never forget the coach from Florida when he offered me. Billy Donovan was the head coach at the time. He said, "Man, when we give you this offer, because you know how it works, once you get the first big offer, everybody else is like, what do they see that we don't?" And they followed. You know what I'm saying? So he was like, "Once you get this offer, your life gonna change." Right. And I got that Florida offer and it came in the masses, like, nonstop.

• 54:21Speaker 04

  But that, that year when I broke my wrist, I wasn't taking school this serious. I was, because I was the best player on campus. I was the best basketball player on my shoe. Like, what am I, I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be good. Like, school wasn't necessarily, you know, not to say I would have flunked out, but like, it wasn't necessarily, I wasn't necessarily the person who I am today that I stand on. It was just like, man, like, I need to grow up. You know what I mean? And that for me, realizing that this all, all this shit can be taken away like that. If he wanted to, it can be done. And what do you have left to show for it? And I think that was for me, it was like, I bet. I'm gonna do what I need to do off the floor, but like, on the court, I'm gonna take this, you know, I'm gonna take this seriously. And that's when I chose to stick with basketball and it panned out, I feel like. And worked out.

• 55:01Fred Taylor?

  Mine is the game, it's the sport. We got three gamers in here right now.

• 55:05Speaker 04

  Hey, I tell you this right now. When I play, when I play college football on the line in the game, I used to play all the time. I used to play all the time. I appreciate it.

• 55:13Fred Taylor?

  Hey, bro, I've been waiting to meet you, man.

• 55:15Speaker 04

  My three shows.

• 55:15Fred Taylor?

  Appreciate you.

• 55:16Speaker 04

  We'll catch up for sure.

• 55:17Fred Taylor?

  Appreciate it.