Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell opened up about the emotional toll of his team’s second-round playoff elimination at the hands of the Indiana Pacers.
Speaking to Taylor Rooks in a recent interview, Mitchell admitted the 4–1 series loss impacted him more than most previous postseason exits.
“This loss definitely messed me up a little bit,” Mitchell said, via HoopsHype. “More so than most years. And that’s what it’s going to take for it to not happen again.”
Mitchell was instrumental throughout the 2024–25 season, leading the Cavaliers to a 64–18 record—the best in the Eastern Conference and second-best in franchise history. He earned First Team All-NBA honors and started his sixth consecutive All-Star Game.
Despite the regular season success, Cleveland fell short in the Conference Semifinals. Mitchell scored 35 points in the Game 5 elimination loss, pushing through a left ankle injury that had limited him in the second half of Game 4.
He averaged 29.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game in the 2025 playoffs. That included 48 points in Game 2 and 43 in Game 3—making him just the second Cavalier after LeBron James to record back-to-back 40-point playoff games.
Mitchell acknowledged the public scrutiny that follows a player in his position.
“I get paid a lot of money to play basketball, but what comes with that is the criticism of like, hey, can Donovan do it?” he said. “That’s just how it works.”
He also recognized that failure often draws more attention than success.
“I think there’s a world where people are definitely excited to see you fail,” Mitchell said. “I also know there’s a bunch of people in Cleveland and other cities I know rooting for it to happen.”
Now entering his third season with the Cavaliers, Mitchell is under contract through 2029 after signing a three-year, $150.3 million extension in July 2024.
Despite the setback, he emphasized that he’s not going anywhere.
“I made the joke after the end of the year like this could happen eight more times. I’m not going to stop.”
Mitchell’s mindset reflects his continued pursuit of postseason success, even as the Cavaliers face growing expectations and playoff pressure in the Eastern Conference.
With the 2025–26 season approaching, Mitchell will aim to build on one of the most statistically productive years of his career while pushing Cleveland deeper into the playoffs.
