Donovan Mitchell wants to ‘impact the youth,’ leave a ‘legacy’ off the court

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell is one of the top basketball players at his position on the planet. At just 29 years old, the gifted scorer is already a six-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA selection.

However, Mitchell made it clear with a response he gave to one question during a recent youth basketball camp he held in Cleveland that he doesn’t want to be known solely for his basketball career 30 years from now.

“If I could impact one child at this camp, one moment, that’s what it’s about,” Mitchell said. “In 30 years, that’s what my legacy is going to be. Yeah, if we win championships, that’d be fantastic, but at the end of the day, who are you as a person? What did you leave? What was your impact?”

Mitchell claimed that he doesn’t want young people to view him as some larger-than-life individual, either. He wants to come off as human and “reachable.”

“I want the kids to have that moment so when they go and tell the stories to their parents and to their friends and be able to say, ‘Hey, I was with that guy’ that they see on TV,” Mitchell said. “That I’m reachable. I’m touchable. I’m not just some character that they can’t really touch. I’m here.”

He hinted that entering the coaching ranks may be in the cards after he’s done starring at the NBA level.

“I think for myself, just finding ways to impact the youth in that way,” Mitchell said. “I’m obviously not going to be a teacher, but being a coach is a form of being a teacher and an educator in a sense. So that’s something that…I’m pretty passionate about.”

Mitchell gets that there’s more to life than simply the game of basketball.

“Understanding that there’s life outside of just the game,” Mitchell said. “This game is going to always go on, even though I’m not here. It’s life. So understanding that for me, I’m always going to appreciate the legacy that you leave off the court. The way I’m able to reach people and touch people because that’s ultimately everlasting.”

The former University of Louisville star is well on his way to achieving his goal of leaving a lasting legacy off the court with all of the youth he’s impacted from his basketball camp.

However, with the start of the coming season not that far off, Mitchell should have his attention turned to bolstering his legacy on the court, and he could do just that by helping the Cavaliers win their second title in franchise history in 2026.

Cleveland’s best chance to win a championship with this current core might just be in the 2025-26 campaign. Teams like the Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics are significantly worse on paper compared to last season, and the New York Knicks shook up their coaching staff by firing Tom Thibodeau after he coached New York to its first appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals in a long time.

In light of how the Cavaliers won 64 games in the 2024-25 regular season only to lose in the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs, folks aren’t likely to put too much stock into the team’s regular-season success.

Cleveland will kick off its 82-game campaign with a contest against the Knicks on Oct. 22.