Utah Jazz: Donovan Mitchell is not better than Karl Malone or John Stockton

Stephen A. Smith is known to deliver outrageous takes, but this one on Utah Jazz superstar Donovan Mitchell is worthy of taking the cake. In an episode of ESPN’s Get Up, Smith praised the young star, and rightfully so. After all, the way Mitchell has been playing this season and helping Utah earn the top seed in the West is a major accomplishment. But that is where the pleasantries end and the blasphemy begins.

In the same segment, Smith boastfully proclaimed that Mitchell, at this point in his career, is the greatest Utah Jazz player in their franchise’s history, even greater than Hall of Famers Karl Malone and John Stockton. Wait, what? Did he really say with a straight face that Mitchell is better than those two guys? Yep, please take a look at it.

https://twitter.com/GetUpESPN/status/1403383036125888512?s=20

That is, first of all, outrageous and, without question, blasphemous. Not even true in the slightest. Maybe someday it could come true, but right now? No way, no how. That is recency bias to a fault. Donovan Mitchell better than Karl Malone and John Stockton already?

Malone, a two-time league MVP, a 14-time All-Star, and most notably, the second all-time leading scorer in the history of basketball? What about Stockton, who has the NBA record for most assists in a career, a 10x All-Star, and an All-Star game MVP in 1993? Is Mitchell, only a two-time All-Star, better than that already?

Stephen A. Smith is known to deliver outrageous takes, but this one on Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell is worthy of taking the cake.

The answer is no, and Mitchell has a long way to go. Is he a great player? Absolutely. Should he stay with Utah and continue to play at a high level, he will go down as a great for the Utah Jazz. But right now, that’s not the case. Furthermore, in case people forget, both Malone and Stockton were the leaders of the Utah Jazz teams in 1997 and 1998 that went to the NBA Finals and fell to Michael Jordan’s Bulls, the latter featuring a shot for the ages in Game 6 that left Jazz fans in attendance in a state of horror and shock. Also, Mitchell hasn’t made the Western Conference Finals, not yet. He’s still engaged in a battle with the LA Clippers, tied 2-2.

Since Malone and Stockton left, the Jazz haven’t been among the most desired teams and have largely been known throughout their history for fan interaction with players, mostly in a negative way, i.e., Russell Westbrook and Stephen Jackson. Mitchell has certainly brought excitement to the city and has the fans filled with hope, but the Malone and Stockton experience was unbelievable.

Above all, both guys were members of the famed 1992 NBA Dream Team that won gold in the Barcelona Olympics. Donovan Mitchell has yet to even participate in an Olympic event. He might, but right now, he hasn’t, and that’s taken into consideration when making this abundantly clear. Furthermore, in terms of the greatest Jazz player ever, need we also mention Pete “Pistol Pete” Maravich?

Ultimately, while Donovan Mitchell is truly a superstar player and has broken out over the last few years, to put him over Karl Malone and John Stockton is ridiculous. Stephen A is no stranger to crazy takes and being wrong, and this just adds to it. Sorry, but recent bias doesn’t equate to facts, and given how Smith has grown up around the game of basketball, he ought to know that by now.