Donovan Mitchell Was Scared By Russell Westbrook As A Rookie

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell revealed that his biggest fear as a rookie was rival star Rusell Westbrook in a video interview with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Mitchell, a former Boys and Girls Club member fielded questions from current members about his life as an NBA player, how he’s handled being away from the game, and what he feared most as a rookie.

In a never before told story, Mitchell recalled his first interaction with Westbrook as the Jazz faced the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“Westbrook was one of my favorite players,” Mitchell said, “He does that thing where he sits on the bench pregame, so physically seeing him I had to get that ‘Oh, thats Russell Westbrook out of my head’. So Steven Adams is standing in from of him and I peek around him and Steven moves, and Russell is giving me the death stare right in my first game.”

Doors to Boys and Girls Clubs of America may be closed for now, but @BGCA_Clubs are still reaching out to kids in our communities. Proud to work w/ @ESPNCitizenship for a series of regional Q-and-A sessions. My visit w/ Donovan Mitchell (@SpidaMitchell):https://t.co/po1cDpW1vv

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 29, 2020

Though Mitchell remembers first seeing Westbrook as the two teams met in just the third game of the Jazz guard’s rookie season, both players had games they’d likely prefer to forget about.

Yet to find his stride as a rookie, Mitchell scored just two points on 1-7 shooting while committing four personal fouls. Westbrook scored just 6 points on 2-11 shooting while turning the ball over seven times.

“I was like oh what do I do?” Mitchell remembers, “I emulated his moves non-stop and now he’s staring at you, trying to instill fear into you and it was like okay you’ve got to get over this.”

Spida with the spin 🕷️#OKCatUTA pic.twitter.com/BqXWJKyQqZ

— utahjazz (@utahjazz) October 22, 2017

Getting over his bad performances was a skill Mitchell has had to learn throughout his basketball career, dating back to high school.  

“The biggest thing is don’t let it consume you,” Mitchell said, “Coaches are not going to worry about you going 0-20, they’re going to worry about how you react to going 0-20, how you respond, those are the things that are going to get you a college scholarship.”

Ultimately, Mitchell would get the last laugh between the two in his rookie season. The Jazz and Thunder would face one another in the first round of the playoffs leading to Mitchell’s breakout performance on a national stage.

The Jazz guard mentioned that beating the Thunder in six games was the best moment of his young career.

Russell Westbrook (45 PTS, 15 REB, 7 AST) & Paul George (34 PTS, 8 REB) combine for 79 PTS in Game 5 to keep the @okcthunder season alive! #ThunderUp #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/N5kObF8O7h

— NBA (@NBA) April 26, 2018

“For me and our team, that was our first playoff series win and my first playoff series with the Jazz,” Mitchell remembered, “We had been paying back and forth, we were supposed to win [game five] in OKC but Russell Westbrook had one of his special games.”

Despite leading by 15 at the half, and a 25 point lead in the second half, the Jazz lost game five in Oklahoma City thanks to a 45 point, 15 rebound, seven assist performance from Westbrook.

After the game, Mitchell assured Thunder fans that the series would not be going back to Oklahoma City for a game seven.

The homie @spidadmitchell tells OKC fans “Hey we’ll see y’all next year, aight” #Jazzin6 #TAKEmfnNOTE #🤐 pic.twitter.com/QpUmcmAIWe

— Ashton Reinhold (@AshtonReinhold) April 26, 2018

The Jazz would close the series in a hard-fought game six at home.

“We came back home and handled business,” Mitchell told Wojnarowski, “But for me as a rookie, playing against Paul [George] and Carmelo [Anthony], I used to watch Carmelo in [Madison Square Garden] as a kid, Paul really told me to come to the NBA, he and [Chris Paul], and then a guy I used to emulate in Russell Westbrook, so all of them on the same team and for us to beat them, that was one of the best memories in my life.”

April 27, 2018: @utahjazz rookie Donovan Mitchell scored 38 points in Game 6 against the Thunder in a series clinching, 96-91 victory. It's one of the greatest playoff performances in franchise history. #KSLSportsArchive #takenote #NBA pic.twitter.com/kKZeXxgfUe

— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) April 28, 2020

Though the two players have had their share of battles, Mitchell and Westbrook shared a special moment after a game in Utah early in the Jazz guard’s career.

Despite suffering a 103-89 loss, Mitchell put up an ultra-efficient 29 points on 12-16 shooting, while grabbing five rebounds.

After the game, Westbrook, George, and Anthony met Mitchell at halfcourt to offer advice to the young guard on his rapidly developing stardom in his rookie season.

The OKC Thunder big 3 of Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony made a point to talk to Donovan Mitchell after the game

respect 🙌 pic.twitter.com/yW1D6vBZFW

— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) December 24, 2017

In the conversation with Wojnarowksi, Mitchell shared several stories that may interest Jazz fans, including attending LeBron James decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat, his struggles as a student in high school, and how he’s kept busy during the quarantine.