Donovan Mitchell has been nothing short of a revelation for the Utah Jazz this season. Despite slipping to 13th in last June’s draft (and getting traded by the Nuggets to Utah), the Louisville product has been one of the best rookies in the entire Association and, on any given night, he can do something special. Friday was one of those nights.
In a 129-97 romp over the Suns in Phoenix, Mitchell scored 40 points on 14-of-19 shooting (7-of-9 from three-point range) along with five rebounds and six assists. The Western Conference Rookie of the Month in both December and January also dropped 40 — well, 41 to exact — earlier this year, and is the first rookie with two 40+ point games since Blake Griffin did it in the 2010-11 campaign.
Safe to say he’s building a decent Rookie of the Year campaign, even with the Jazz under .500 and unlikely to make the playoffs in the West.
Video courtesy of the NBA
