You can tell a lot about a person by the way he reacts when he accidentally bumps into somebody in a crowded locker room, especially in the space directly in front of his own locker, in his space.
When Donovan Mitchell slightly nudged a reporter as he stretched out his arm to put on his jacket, all while answering questions after the Jazz beat the Clippers the other night, he immediately apologized. It wasn’t a double-clutch kind of deal that was processed through his brain and purposely announced for show. It was quiet and automatic, the sort that spills out naturally, without thought, without pretense, without qualification, rather just because it was the decent thing to do, the thing he was taught and brought up to do — long before he became a rookie NBA sensation.
Here’s the question then on darn near everybody’s mind, beyond wondering where the limits are to Mitchell’s expanding game: Will his humble, polite, almost sweet demeanor change as the spotlight shines brighter on him, as interest and attention intensify, as his prowess extends, his fame grows and his money stacks higher?
Which is to say, will he become a jerk as his star rises?
I asked him that exact question in the scrum the other night.
This is what he said: “That’s not in my DNA. Not at all. My mom would kill me, too, so …”
Write it down. Ain’t gonna happen. Come what may.
Donovan really is Donovan, what everybody wants him to be. More importantly, what he wants him to be. A beast on the court, a gentleman off it.
Here’s a question for everyone else: Have you ever heard or seen Mitchell say or do anything that would make you doubt his response?
No. No you have not.
You only can fake proper behavior for so long. And this deep into the season, there would have been hints and glimpses of false humility, of cloaked selfishness, of disingenuous flaws along the undulating path. With the 21-year-old kid, there have been none.
The challenge here is to make note of all this without laying it on too thick.
Mitchell is the rarest of rookies — from a talent standpoint, from a competitive standpoint, from an acumen standpoint, from a maturity standpoint, from a character standpoint. His actions and answers to questions are authentic, even as they seem to be too good to be true.
He’s not perfect. He takes bad shots sometimes and misses them. He’s still on a learning curve. He makes mistakes. Hell, he probably door-bell ditched somebody — Mrs. Fuddpucker down the street — at some time in his life. But his heart and mind and body are usually in the right place. His words are genuine and on the mark.
Whether it’s prioritizing the team’s success over the chase for the Rookie of the Year Award or showing leadership at such a young age or dialing in on the matters that matter most, Mitchell sits on the pitch and generally drives it pure.
Even his veteran teammates agree, the ones who have acquiesced to the youngster’s play to advance their own. They like the rook, and even better, they respect him and his game.
“He’s not going to become no jerk,” Derrick Favors said. “I don’t think he can. He’s definitely a bright guy. He’s smart and humble. He’s just wanting to have fun playing basketball. We lean on him at the offensive end. He’s been coming through for us all year. He’s mature for his age. He’s enjoying himself, and we enjoy him. We feed off his enthusiasm. It’s all good.”
Said Mitchell: “I try not to be the young guy, per se. I try to hold myself to a higher standard. And right not, it’s higher than I originally anticipated. Just trying to hold myself … like, I know what I’m doing, accepting criticism …”
Being a pro.
With all the attention he’s gotten and is getting, Mitchell said he’s processed what’s going on and handling it. “I’m not allowing it to absorb me. … The biggest thing I’m worried about is staying locked in and helping this team win any way possible. The moment I start worrying about individual awards is the moment I give up on my teammates.”
As far as dedication to his craft and adjusting to life in the NBA, Mitchell said he prefers to stay at home and watch TV, to relax and take care of his body: “A lot of guys, especially at my age, want to go out and they want to be all over the place. That’s just not me. That’s helped me a lot.”
Asked if he is surprised by his early success, Mitchell said: “Everyday is something new.”
He added that he’s keeping his eyes and ears open and learning lessons, discovering what he is and can be as a player as he goes.
The description of Mitchell that stands out the most in his rookie year is what coach Quin Snyder said about him just a few weeks in: “He’s got a big heart. He competes. He’s a warrior.”
Rapid fame and riches have seduced and clutched good people and players in the past, messing over what might have been much greater. Mitchell is resistant to that, if not wholly above it. He’s aware of but not absorbed by his unique circumstances, too bright not to know what awaits in his present and future if he focuses and continues to work. And he knows that he’ll fall substantially short of what might have been without that personal application.
If that happens … oh, pity the fool. His mom will give him the business, the what-for. And nobody, foremost among them, not him, wants to think about how that might go down.
“No,” he said. “I just want to work and win.”
Gordon Monson hosts “The Big Show” weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m. on 97.5 FM and 1280 AM The Zone.
