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Donovan Mitchell won’t make any All-NBA teams this season, no matter how he performs over time.
As Clutch Points’ Brett Siegel pointed out, Mitchell joined a list of some of the NBA’s brightest stars who missed too many games to be eligible for MVP and All-NBA honors. The Cleveland Cavaliers guard did not participate in Monday’s game against the Phoenix Suns due to a knee injury:
Brett Siegel @BrettSiegelNBA
Donovan Mitchell will miss his 18th game of the season tonight, which means he won’t be eligible for MVP and All-NBA honors. Here are the others he joins on this list:
Joel Embiid (PHI)
Jimmy Butler (M.I.A.)
Kyrie Irving (DAL)
Julius Randle (NYK)
Kristaps Porzingis (BOS)
Bradley Beal (PHX)…
Joel Embiid is the most notable name on the list as the reigning MVP, but Mitchell has played at an All-NBA level at times this season and is averaging 28.0 points, 6.2 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from deep.
Given this individual production and Cleveland’s position as a third seed in the Eastern Conference, he surely would have been a candidate to make one of the All-NBA teams.
Unfortunately, the league implemented its new 65-game rule this season in an effort to limit load management and star rest. According to the rule, any player who does not appear in at least 65 games cannot be recognized as MVP, Defensive Player of the Year or All-NBA.
Mitchell went under on Monday and hasn’t played since Feb. 28 due to knee issues.
Although he would surely have liked to receive All-NBA honors at the end of the season, he and the Cavaliers are more focused on a potential playoff run deep in the Eastern Conference. They are well-positioned for a favorable seed and just one game behind the Milwaukee Bucks for second place.
Having their star as healthy as possible for the playoffs is more important than pushing any injury to reach the 65-game limit, especially since Cleveland’s chances of making a deep playoff run largely rest on Mitchell’s availability.
