Donovan Mitchell had a strong 2020-21 NBA season, being selected to play in the All-Star game and leading the Utah Jazz to a No. The Western Conference’s No. 1 seed. Mitchell wants to be the No.1 seed in the Western Conference for the 2021-22 season. Mitchell is aiming to be the No. 1 player in the league. PopCulture.com caught up with Mitchell, a 25-year-old star basketball player. He revealed that being the NBA MVP is one of his personal goals for the season.
“Why can’t it be me?” PopCulture was able to hear Mitchell’s comments. “I think that’s something that I’ve always prided myself in, being able to be the best. You don’t train to be second or third. You train to be at the top, number one. And I think that’s something that I can do and attain. But through that comes team success. I don’t get any of that without my teammates, and I don’t get any without team success. So if I’m gunning for MVP and we’re in eighth, ninth place, then it’s not doing anybody any good. So at the end of the day, I’m focused on winning and help my teammates as much as I can, and continuing to win. And everything else will kind of fall into line.”
Mitchell’s 26.4 points and 5.2 assist per game average was one of the main reasons the Jazz was the top conference team. Rudy Gobert and Mitchell earned the fourth- and fifth-place votes, respectively. Mitchell did not receive MVP votes. Mitchell and Gobert were instrumental in making the Jazz a dominant force in the league. The Jazz is not slowing down.
“I think we’re coming back with a vengeance,” Mitchell commented. “But obviously, I can say that we better go out there and put the work in and continue to do it because teams are loading up around us. Golden State’s back, LA [Lakers] is doing what they’re doing. But we got to be ready. I think Phoenix is the defendant conference champions, so we got to find a way to continue to build and get better. But I think we have the pieces to do it. Just got to stay healthy for one and continue to put the work in.”
Mitchell, a Slam Dunk Contest winner, also shared where he’s made the most significant improvements. “I think being able to shoot off the dribble, being able to be a threat from anywhere on the court,” He said. “You look at, obviously Stephen [Curry], and Dame [Lillard], they’re shooting from the low consistently. But just being able to be a threat as soon as you get over half-court, not necessarily just the score, but being able to create and facilitate and find guys when needed, and be able to initiate the offense and create for others as well.”