Donovan Mitchell defends Harden: “Sure, has he had some rough moments? We all have. LeBron is one of the greatest players ever. We don’t speak on the 2011 finals when he struggled. We don’t speak on Jordan taking 8 years to get to the finals. We speak on the wins.”
Playing with James has taught me a lot. He’s helped me a bunch. He’s helped the group a lot. I’m appreciative of him because he helped me get somewhere that I’ve never been before and the team as well.
Sometimes the simple question is, “Why? Why do you care about this certain thing?” It’s like, “Oh, I’ve never really thought of that.” But it’s different when you have somebody that you look eye to eye within that scenario. I’ve never played with a guy like James who’s done what he’s done. So, to hear some things from him, it’s like, “Man, all right.” And what he’s been able to do for our group, man, it’s been phenomenal. Obviously, we didn’t get to where we wanted to get to, but people are going to say what they want to say.
We don’t get to the conference finals without James Harden. We tried. I don’t know how else to put it, but we live in a world where it’s just so much easier to knock and hate. And pretty sure they’re going to hate me. They’re going to hate [Evan Mobley], they hate [head coach] Kenny [Atkinson]. They’re going to hate everybody, right? So, this right here isn’t me saying, “Don’t hate us.”
I’ve watched [Harden] for nine years. I’ve watched it and to see it firsthand, the work ethic, the passion, the IQ, the leadership. The man just gets a bad rep. And I talked about how he changed the game and all that stuff, but he did. Yeah, sure, has he had some rough moments? I’m sure we all have. LeBron [James] is one of the greatest players ever. We don’t really speak on the [Dallas] Mavericks [NBA] Final [in 2011] when he struggled [with the Miami Heat]. We don’t speak on [Michael] Jordan taking eight years to get to the Finals. We speak on the wins.
Unless you win the championship, no one’s going to say anything positive. I was going to go, “Hey, what’s next? What are they going to do? Are they going to blow it up? Are they going to do this? Are they ready? Is he this? Is he that?” It’s always been that way. And being around James [Harden] and seeing it firsthand. not really be on me for a second, but on him and I’m like, “No, that ain’t right.” I’ve gotten my fair share, for sure. But seeing it and it’s watching how he handles [it]; y’all [skeptics] really don’t matter. For me, my biggest reason of backing him and supporting him is because we lose the plot of greatness if there’s no ring attached.
I love this group we have. And I’ve always said this isn’t my area, right? This isn’t my job. My job is to go out there and do the best I can on the floor. But obviously [Cavaliers president] Koby [Altman] and everybody will have their conversations. [Cavaliers owner] Dan [Gilbert] said what he said after the game. So, we’ll see. … We are going to war with whoever’s presented on the floor, and that’s kind of my mindset.
As far as this locker room goes, I love everybody in there. We’ve done something. We’ve grown each year, especially on the court, man. To see us lose to the Knicks in the first round [in 2023], get to the second round [in 2024], then lose to the [Indiana] Pacers last year, and now we’re here. We’ve shown a lot of growth and I’m very proud of the group, but anything outside of that is not up to me.
https://andscape.com/features/donovan-mitchell-interview-cavaliers-knicks-playoffs-sweep-reaction/