National Basketball Association

Donovan Mitchell earning the recognition that escaped him in Utah

Updated Mar. 1, 2023 3:52 p.m. ET

Donovan Mitchell stormed his way into the NBA history books with a stunning 71-point performance in Cleveland's 145-134 overtime win over Chicago on Monday, the most points scored since Kobe Bryant had 81 in 2006.

Mitchell was already having an MVP-caliber season, but his latest scoring deluge put him in rarified air, making him just the seventh player in the history of the league to top 70 points.

For Mitchell, it highlighted one truth that has become increasingly obvious this season: Going to Cleveland was deeply necessary for his growth.

Mitchell is averaging career-highs in points (29.3), field goal percentage (49.2%) and 3-point percentage (41.4%) this season for the Cavaliers. He has said multiple times that he's happier than ever. After five seasons in Utah in which the team never got past the second round of the playoffs, it was clear that frustration was mounting on both sides.

Something needed to give.

With the Cavaliers, Mitchell's game has been unlocked. He's driving to the rim more instead of settling for outside shots, making him more efficient than ever. He has palpable chemistry with Darius Garland. And he has become a key cog to the league's top-rated defense, alongside Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.

Mitchell's tenure with the Jazz had grown stale. There was a long history of tension between him and Rudy Gobert. And in a recent interview with Andscape, Mitchell also acknowledged that playing in Utah was "draining" because of racial issues.

After the Jazz fell to Dallas in the first round of the playoffs last season, the franchise had a complete shake down. Jazz coach Quin Snyder resigned and Gobert was traded to Minnesota in July. Then, Mitchell was dealt to Cleveland in September.

Mitchell has breathed new life into a Cavaliers franchise that had missed the playoffs four straight seasons after losing LeBron James in free agency in 2018. And conversely, the Cavaliers have also reinvigorated his career.

While the MVP race is tight this season, Mitchell's performance Monday undoubtedly turned heads. It's something that needed to happen for him after he became a somewhat forgotten star in Utah, an oxymoron that contained a lot of truth.

The thing is, even though Mitchell was a three-time All-Star with the Jazz, he was always somewhat overlooked there. For example, even when the Jazz were among the top teams in the league in 2021, NBA All-Star captains James and Kevin Durant picked Mitchell and Gobert last during the All-Star draft, something James justified at the time as having more to do with the team than its players.

"There's no slander to the Utah Jazz," James said in 2021. "You've got to understand, just like in video games growing up, we never played with Utah. As great as Karl Malone and John Stockton was, we would never pick those guys in video games. Never."

Mitchell is now getting a new type of recognition in Cleveland. Not only is he playing better, but he's playing with joy, something that was never more evident than Monday.

There were long 3s and pull-up jumpers. He attacked the lane, splitting defenders. He was everywhere, seemingly doing anything he wanted.

"In my 15 years, that's the best performance I've ever seen," Kevin Love told reporters Monday.

Added Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff: "... We were treated tonight to one of the greatest performances in the history of the NBA."

Heading into this week, Mitchell was peripherally in the MVP conversation. According to NBA.com, he was 10th on their MVP Ladder, behind Nikola Jokić, Jayson Tatum, Luka Dončić, Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Zion Williamson, Ja Morant and Jaylen Brown.

But after Monday, it's hard to argue against him being higher. He's having a career year for the Cavaliers, one of the top teams in the league, sitting in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 24-14.

Now, Mitchell has joined Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, David Thompson, David Robinson, Kobe Bryant and Devin Booker as the only other players who have scored 70 points or more in a game.

"It's humbling — I'm speechless to be honest with you," Mitchell told reporters Monday. "Not only did I do that, but I did it in an effort where we came back and won, and it's how we won. This is nuts. I'm extremely blessed and humbled that I'm in that company, in that group."

For Mitchell, things have come together, and he's taking advantage of the moment.

It's making it impossible to overlook him any longer.

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Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.