Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell hails LeBron James’ contribution to the franchise as he calls him one of the greatest of all times

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers as Donovan Mitchell spoiled LeBron James’ homecoming at Cleveland. The Purple and Gold army lost the match 116-102 as Mitchell delivered a masterclass scoring season high 43 points.

Anthony Davis, who was in prime touch having scored 99 points in the last two games, could only last for eight minutes in this game as he had flu-like symptoms and went off the court after only scoring a single point. However the match was still hanging in the balance in the second half until the fourth quarter where Mitchell came up and delivered big time.

Along with Donovan Mitchell who scored 43 points, there was also Jarrett Allen who scored a 24 point triple double.

It was a special moment for Lebron James as he is eternally tied to the city from the day he was drafted in the NBA by the Cavaliers. So while Donovan Mitchell’s heroics was highly applauded, it was a tribute paid to LeBron during a timeout that made the headlines.

LeBron won the NBA Championship with the Cavaliers back in 2016 coming back from a 3-1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors. LeBron and team created history as they became the first team to come back from 3-1 down to win the FInals.

After the game, Donovan Mitchell spoke in an interview about the game, the LeBron tribute from the franchise and a whole lot more. Spida shared how it was a well deserved appreciation from the crowd who really loves him.

“It really hit, for me, like a full-circle moment. I kind of sat there and just kind of watched the reception he got, and that’s incredible. It’s well deserved,” he said, speaking about the LeBron tribute from the Cavs crowd.

Mitchell wants to draw motivation from LeBron James’ time at Cleveland as he brought he only title for the franchise. He wants to take motivation and achieve something that LeBron did with the Cavs during his time.

“He’s one of the greatest players of all time, brought a championship — the only championship — to this franchise, and you always gotta have respect and admiration for that. And hopefully, we can do something similar.”

The Cavaliers are third in the Eastern Conference with a record of 16-9 and they are only behind the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks. However the Cavaliers are really a strong unit with plenty of solid young players led by one of the best of this generation in Donovan Mitchell.