Donovan Mitchell Tells GQ His 10 Travel Essentials

SALT LAKE CITY – In a follow-up to his “How I spent my first $1 million,” Donovan Mitchell told GQ about the 10 items he couldn’t live without.

In the “10 Essentials” series, GQ sits down with NBA players from across the league to discuss the 10 things they have on them at all times whether they’re at home, or on the road during the NBA season.

Here is the list of the Utah Jazz guard’s 10 essential items.

The 10 Essentials For Donovan Mitchell

1. Custom Jewelry From Mom

The first items Mitchell showed GQ were two pieces of jewelry he’d received from his mom. The first was a Rolex watch, and the second, a diamond-encrusted necklace in the shape of his “Spida” logo.

“These mean a lot to me just because these were really like my mom’s first big purchases for me,” Mitchell said in the video post.

Mitchell earned the nickname Spida from a friend’s dad during his AAU days, and it has stuck with him through college and now the NBA.

2. BodyArmor Drink

Mitchell gave a shoutout to the sports drink BodyArmor who he partnered with in 2019. The company has grown from a small brand in the world of sports drinks to one of the biggest names in sports after being purchased by Coca-Cola last week for $5.6 billion.

“It’s definitely great being able to have your refrigerator stocked with as much BodyArmor — Tropical Punch, fruit punch — I’ve got to continuously fuel my body in the right way.”

3. Haribo Gummi Bears

Mitchell’s third essential is his go-to candy of choice. The guard said he’s long been a fan of the Haribo Gummi Bear dating back to his high school days, and can still be found falling asleep with wrappers from the candy next to him in bed.

“It’s not really part of my diet at all,” Mitchell admitted. “But just the little guilty pleasures you have, this is definitely one of them.”

4. Uno Card Game

A deck of cards is essential for most NBA players as the long plane rides between games demand some form of entertainment. Mitchell’s go-to is Uno, which he’s made no secrets about on his Twitter page.

Can you put a draw 4 over a draw 2?? I NEED ANSWERS!!! @realUNOgame

— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) September 18, 2020

“I think I’m probably one of the top Uno players in the world,” Mitchell bragged. “Self-proclaimed out of the 450 NBA players, I’m definitely number one.”

5. Tablet

When Mithell isn’t on the practice floor, he said he likes to be watching footage of his games to see how he can improve, and he does that on his Microsoft Tablet.

“Growing up you always want to watch your highlights and the stuff that you do well,” Mitchell said. “But I think for me, understanding — watching the bad games, watching the bad possessions really helped you grow as a player”

6. D.O.N. Issue #3

The Jazz guard’s sixth essential are his signature shoes from Adidas. Mitchell had his first signature shoe debut after his breakout rookie season and now has three issues of the D.O.N. shoe on the market.

Mitchell said he uses his shoe as an opportunity to reach out to youth in the community.

“I walk around New York City and there are parks everywhere, I’ll see a kid in my shoe and I’ll just stop by and just watch,” Mitchell said to GQ. “I was that kid and if I had certain players’ shoes on having them just pull up and see me in that shoe I think would be the coolest thing in the world.”

7. Xbox Controller

Mitchell is an avid gamer, a hobby he said he picked up during the COVID-19 pandemic when NBA players were instructed to stay indoors as much as possible.

Donovan Mitchell sat down with @GQSports to tell them how he spent his first $1 million in the NBA. #TakeNote | @UtahJazz https://t.co/WHT2hxMIUz

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 14, 2021

The guard said it’s a way for him to stay connected to people around the world.

“I play my friends back home, whether it’s to [NBA]2K, Call of Duty, FIFA, or MLB The Show now that that’s finally back on Xbox, I’m excited about that.”

8. Stance Socks And Masks

The All-Star guard also partners with the clothing brand Stance which began as a small sock company and has since become an official partner of the NBA and MLB.

Mitchell has his own Stance store in Salt Lake City and even has customized face masks from the company featuring his “Spida” logo.

9. Mets Hat

Mitchell said the final piece of clothing that he always has with him is a New York Mets hat A die-hard fan of the team, Mitchell’s father Donovan Sr. works for the organization, and the guard grew up dreaming one day of playing in the MLB.

As for whether he still wants to try his hand at baseball a la Michael Jordan, here’s what Mitchell had to say.

“He was able to do that after three championships. I’ve got to get one at least before I even contemplate doing that.”

10. Beats Headphones

The final essential for Mitchell on his list is a pair of Beats headphones that he got upon the release of his first shoe.

The company sent him a customized pair including a carrying case with his “Spida” logo to commemorate the special event.

“I’m a walking soundtrack, wherever I go,” Mitchell told GQ. “if I’m walking upstairs or downstairs, if I walk into the games, there’s music always playing.”

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