Years after Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell donated $12 million to the Greenwich Country Day School — a school located in the state of Connecticut — he took to Instagram to share photos of a gym that he helped build.
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Mitchell gave the school its largest donation in its history not long after he agreed to a five-year, $195 extension with his former team — the Utah Jazz — in the year 2020.
On top of helping the school he attended pay for a new gym, he donated the money so that scholarships will allow children from all financial backgrounds to attend the school. Additionally, he wanted to provide financial aid for teachers, whom he said aren’t paid enough for all they do.
“Teachers are the unsung heroes throughout all of this,” Mitchell said. “They’re underpaid. I’ve seen my mom teach for a lot of years … and there are a lot of times teachers are paying out of pocket to make the kids’ experiences great. To be able to support the teachers was something I wanted to focus on. I’m extremely blessed to be able to make that happen.”
Mitchell also had his jersey retired at the school.
Donovan Mitchell's jersey is retired at his school Greenwich Country Day as its new gym "The DON" opens pic.twitter.com/7xUYuBvPgG
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) October 27, 2024
Cavaliers fans have to commend the generosity that Mitchell has shown for the school, even if the school isn’t in the state of Ohio.
But for as great as it is that Mitchell helped Greenwich Country Day School afford to build a beautiful gym, he has more pertinent things to focus on at the moment, such as the 2024-25 NBA season.
Fortunately for Mitchell, the Cavaliers are off to a great start to the campaign, as Cleveland is in a tie with the Boston Celtics — the defending NBA champions — for the best record of any team in the Eastern Conference at 3-0. However, as the 28-year-old told his team recently, a tough part of the Cavaliers’ schedule is coming up on the horizon.
After Cleveland started the campaign by playing three teams that project to finish at or near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, its next four games will come against the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic and Milwaukee Bucks.
If the Cavaliers can win two or more of their next four games, fans of the team should be content with that outcome considering the caliber of Cleveland’s upcoming opponents. Cleveland will kick off its tough stretch of contests when it plays the Knicks on Monday night.
