Donovan Mitchell says he’ll probably act just like Jayson Tatum when he finally wins a title

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum let all of his emotions out after his team won the 2024 NBA title, as he dropped a number of memorable lines and even referenced a famous Kanye West quote.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell thinks he’ll react in a similar way if and when he wins his first championship in the league.

“When that day comes and I win a ‘chip, I’m probably gonna be like my man J.T., sayin’ every goddamn meme that I seen,” Mitchell said. “… That’s my dog, too, but I get it, you know what I’m saying?”

The Celtics probably wouldn’t have won a title if it weren’t for the impact that Tatum had in several areas of the game. In the 2024 NBA Playoffs, he averaged 25.0 points, 9.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Although he wasn’t perfect, struggling with his efficiency at times, he became just the sixth player in the history of the NBA to lead his team in playoff points, rebounds and assists during a championship run.

Tatum’s Celtics weren’t truly tested by any of the four opponents they played on their path to a title. Boston won every series in five games or less and eliminated Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks in a gentleman’s sweep in the championship series.

Mitchell seems convinced that his time to win an NBA title will come, but his playoff resume is going to need some work in order for that to happen. He has yet to appear in a conference finals since he joined the league before the 2017-18 campaign.

The 28-year-old saw his team get booted in the second round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs at the hands of Tatum and the Celtics.

The closest Mitchell has gotten to experiencing an extended playoff run came when he and the Utah Jazz lost to the Los Angeles Clippers in six games in the second round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs.

Cavaliers fans are surely hoping that this coming season will be the year that Mitchell finally plays in a conference finals, but the path to reaching that stage will be anything but easy. The Eastern Conference is arguably stronger on paper now than it was last season, and far more than one team has a realistic shot at coming out of the conference and playing in the 2025 NBA Finals.