Those who attended last night’s clash between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls witnessed history.
Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell had one of the greatest performances this beautiful game has ever seen, logging a career-high 71 points to go along with seven three-pointers, 11 assists, and eight rebounds.
It was the highest-scoring game since Kobe Bryant‘s epic 81-point explosion vs. the Toronto Raptors, and he was two boards shy of getting the first-ever 70+ point triple-double.
Needless to say, even his rivals had to tip their hat off to Spida after such a majestic performance.
But more than that, his coach, J.B Bickerstaff, praised him for never putting himself above the team:
#Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff on Donovan Mitchell's 71-point performance tonight: "I don't know how many guys in our league that can do what he did tonight."
— Danny Cunningham (@RealDCunningham) January 3, 2023
“I don’t know how many guys in our league can do what he did tonight,” Bickerstaff said. “We were treated tonight to one of the greatest performances in the history of the game. Every single play that he made was a play that was necessary. Donovan has never put himself above the team, so how can you not root for a guy like that? I told everyone else to get out of the way,” the coach added.
Mitchell has made a reputation for being a humble, down-to-earth kind of guy, which is one of the many reasons why he has such a strong fanbase in the league.
But even if you don’t like him, there’s absolutely no way you can’t be in awe after watching him put up those video game-kind of numbers against actual NBA competition.
It takes a special kind of player to do something like that.
NEXT: Kevin Love Says Cavs Should Retire A Former Player's Number