Stephen A. Smith had once hoped Donovan Mitchell would join the New York Knicks, a common theme with Smith. Despite such predictions, Mitchell recently signed a three-year, $150.3 million extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In a MILLION DOLLAZ WORTH OF GAME podcast interview, Mitchell revealed that Smith’s criticism, not recruitment, spurred him on. He noted that he stopped paying attention to media doubts in his second NBA season, which he saw as a sign of respect, helping him recognize his progress.
“And when people started talking sh*t about, ‘Oh, he not that good,’ and I overcame that little hump, that’s when I was like, ‘Alright, bet. I belong,” Mitchell said. “Because they only doing’ that – they not gonna talk sh*t, like you said, about the last guy on the bench.
“I realized, like, oh, you got the Stephen A. Smiths talking about, ‘Oh, he can be this. He can be that.’ And then you start struggling then it’s like, ‘Oh, he’s not this. He’s not that.’ That’s when I was like, ‘Alright, bet.’ You overcome that. You start becoming better.”
Donovan Mitchell credits Stephen A. Smith’s criticism with helping fuel his rise https://t.co/v6cG4QINC1 pic.twitter.com/28JZ4KCKWe
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 9, 2024
