Utah Jazz: Donovan Mitchell’s response to Shaq perfectly encapsulates his career

Donovan Mitchell is a deadly scorer

His best attribute is undeniable: scoring, which has ballooned in effectiveness every year (after starting at 20.5 ppg mind you), while remaining efficient and highly-dynamic – he has a career effective field goal percentage of 50.0 percent on effective field goal attempts.

Mitchell’s hurried rise also saw him become the fastest player to sink 600 threes in league history.

The Spida has spun an unbreakable web of proficiency thus far – and he’s far from finished.

When asked for a further evaluation of the Shaq comments, Mitchell had this to say:

"“I find things. Coming up, I was told I wasn’t going to do well when I went to Brewster high school, was told I wasn’t gonna play at Louisville. I was told that I wasn’t going to get drafted. That’s just been something that I’ve always heard. There’s always something, and if there’s not anything, then I find something. If people don’t like my game, they don’t like my game. I’m not really playing for what people think. At the end of the day, I’m trying to be the best player I can be. But it helps when people say I can’t do things. I prefer that than hearing the good things to be honest with you.”"

D-Mitch is the type of person that embraces the doubters and naysayers. He revels in proving folks wrong.

It’s what he’s done his whole life – and what he’s currently in the midst of doing right now. Mitchell’s Utah Jazz are sittin’ pretty at the third slot in the West, and share the same amount of losses (4) as the two squads that top them in the standings.

They’re fresh off a widely-remembered collapse in last year’s postseason in which they fell to Denver after making off with a 3-1 lead to start the series (Mitchell himself averaged 36.3 throughout the foray), and while it’s a smudge on his evolving legacy, he’s determined not to let the loss define him.

And per Basketball Reference, the closest comparisons to Mitch’s career thus far are Dave Bing,  Fat Lever, and Ray Allen – all men who are Hall of Famers.

Spida hasn’t scratched the surface of what he truly can do to alter Utah’s fortunes, which is due in large part to his undeterred mentality.

And I for one, think that the “superstar” label is rapidly imminent for Mitchell.

But he doesn’t care what I think either way. And according to him, he’d rather be chastised than praised. So for all those who choose to opt for the former, Donovan Mitchell has a simple message for you.

“Aight.”