The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell considers himself one of the 15 best players in the NBA based on his talent and abilities, but added that he needs to make it in the NBA Finals to get the appreciation from fans.

Mitchell posted 28.3 points per game, 4.4 assists per game and 4.2 rebounds per game in the 2022/23 season and backed it up the following year with averages of 26.6 points, 6.1 assists and 5.1 rebounds as the Cavaliers finished fourth in the Eastern Conference.

He proved why the Cavaliers were right to him to pen him to a $150.3m dollar deal over three years, which expires in 2025 and he’s already beginning to market himself based on his words to Carmelo Anthony.

“Realistically, I look at myself in the Top 10, Top 15 players in this league,” Mitchell told 7PM in Brookyln. “But I haven’t made it to a conference final.

“So for me to make that jump, I can’t sit here and get mad. I can sit here and get mad and use it as fuel.

“It’s an accolade-based world we live in, whether it’s right, wrong, or indifferent. For whatever reason, that’s just what it is.”

Mitchell made his debut in the 2017/18 season with the Utah Jazz after being selected as the 13th overall pick in the NBA Draft that same year.

He went on to establish himself as a regular in their team and earned his first All-Star game nomination in 2020 and since then has been an ever-present through 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 despite being traded in the middle of it.

Who do the Cleveland Cavaliers play in Week 1?

The Cleveland Cavaliers are yet to start their preseason ahead of the upcoming NBA season, which will kick off with a trip to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, October 23 for opening night.

The game at the Scotiabank Arena is set to start at 19:30 ET/16:30.