Donovan Mitchell reflects on full-circle Cavs moment: ‘Crazy how life works’

In honor of their 55th anniversary, the Cleveland Cavaliers will be rocking vintage threads in some games this season. Cleveland has unveiled “Classic Edition” jerseys that will honor the 2000s era of Cavs history and feature 1970s touches.

On Friday, the Cavaliers posted a picture of star guard Donovan Mitchell donning the retro look in an X post. One thing led to another, and an X user found a photo of a young Mitchell rocking an old Cavs jersey. Mitchell reacted to the snapshot and reflected on his full-circle Cavaliers moment.

All these years later, Mitchell is a star on a Cavaliers team that is looking to bring an NBA title to the city of Cleveland for the first time since franchise icon LeBron James was on the squad. The Cavaliers’ first NBA title came back in 2016, and James was awarded Finals MVP after they defeated the Golden State Warriors in seven games in the championship series.

Unfortunately, Cleveland hasn’t come close to winning a title with Mitchell in the fold just yet, though the team has qualified for the playoffs in every one of the three seasons he’s been around for. Plus, the team has reached the second round of the playoffs in back-to-back years.

The acquisition of Mitchell via trade might have marked a turning point for the franchise, as Cleveland missed the playoffs four years in a row before he was brought in.

The icing on the cake of the Mitchell era in Cleveland would be if he were to help the team to the league’s mountaintop in 2026, and it seems as if this season might be the team’s best chance to do so with its “core four.” The Eastern Conference is looking defanged compared to last season.

It would be incredibly poetic for Mitchell to be a key piece of a Cavaliers title squad after he wore their gear all the way back in his formative years. With any luck, he will be holding up the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June.