Cleveland Cavaliers wing Danny Green believes that guard Donovan Mitchell should have made All-NBA First Team over Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Mitchell was named to the All-NBA Second Team this season, which is still a great honor.
Danny Green says he would put Donovan Mitchell on All-NBA First Team over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pic.twitter.com/5Ls4CH1mAy
— Oh no he didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) May 11, 2023
“Maybe Shai – I might take off Shai,” Green said when asked who Mitchell would replace.
Both Mitchell and Gilgeous-Alexander had terrific years for their respective teams, and it makes sense that Green would side with his teammate in this situation.
Mitchell, a four-time All-Star, led the Cavs to the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference this season. While the Cavs were knocked out in the first round by the New York Knicks, the team still showed it can hang with some of the top teams in the East during the regular season.
Cleveland acquired Mitchell in a trade with the Utah Jazz in the offseason, and he didn’t fail to impress in his first season in a Cavs jersey. The former first-round pick averaged 28.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game while shooting 48.4 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from beyond the arc.
While those are great numbers, the voters believed that Gilgeous-Alexander had a better season than Mitchell.
The Thunder guard was the main reason why Oklahoma City exceeded expectations this season. The Thunder, who lost their No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren to a season-ending injury prior to the 2022-23 campaign, made the play-in tournament in the Western Conference this season.
While the Thunder were expected to be among the worst teams in the league, they came one win shy from the playoffs, losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the matchup for the No. 8 seed in the West.
In the 2022-23 season, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game while shooting 51.0 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from beyond the arc. He was also named an All-Star for the first time in his career.
It’s great to see Green supporting Mitchell, but Gilgeous-Alexander nearly outperformed the Cavs guard in every major statistical category.
While Cleveland did end up in the playoffs, it’s hard to deny that both players had a major impact on elevating their respective teams this season.
Hopefully missing out on the All-NBA First Team this season will make Mitchell hungrier to join the team next season.
