A persuasive argument can be made that Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell has been the best player on the NBA’s best team so far in the 2024-25 regular season.
He is averaging a team-high 23.7 points per game while shooting 46.8 percent from the field and 41.0 percent from 3-point range for a Cavaliers squad that is off to a historic 12-0 start to the campaign.
Mitchell also put the Cavaliers on his back from a scoring standpoint in the team’s recent win over the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 11. He dropped a season-high 36 points on 26 shot attempts from the floor, and Cleveland seemingly needed every one of his points in order to come out on top, considering it won by just six.
Still, former NBA point guard Brandon Jennings — who spent time playing for the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards and Detroit Pistons — doesn’t think Mitchell belongs in the same conversation as Bucks star big man Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Stop comparing the franchise guy, MVP, Finals MVP, Defense of Player of the year, All NBA, top 75
12-0 congrats we have seen this movie before https://t.co/mNFQD6H7qF
— Brandon Jennings (@Tuff__Crowd) November 12, 2024
Mitchell might be the more versatile scorer of the two stars, as he can reliably score the ball from both inside and outside the 3-point line, while Antetokounmpo is a career 28.6 percent 3-point shooter.
But which of the two is the more effective scorer is a different conversation. Mitchell has averaged slightly more points per game for his career (24.8 compared to 23.5). However, Antetokounmpo has put the ball in the basket with much greater efficiency in the NBA.
Plus, Antetokounmpo is in another stratosphere compared to Mitchell on the defensive side of the ball. The former has five All-Defensive selections and a Defensive Player of the Year award as feathers in his cap, while the latter has never been much of a positive presence on the less glamorous end of the floor.
Furthermore, Antetokounmpo has experienced greater collective success in the NBA than Mitchell has to this point. Antetokounmpo won an NBA title with the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2020-21 season, which marked the franchise’s first championship since 1971.
Mitchell, on the other hand, has yet to even play in a conference finals since he joined the league ahead of the 2017-18 campaign.
