• Faith: Christian
• Career: Athlete
• Birthday:  September 07, 1996

Donovan Mitchell is an American professional basketball player, currently playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Donovan grew up around New York City, as his father was the director of player relations and community engagement for the New York Mets. He attended high school in Connecticut for his first two years, then transferred to Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. While at Brewster, he played on two high school national championship teams. As a high school senior, Donovan committed to play college basketball at the University of Louisville.

At Louisville, Donovan chose to wear number 45 in honor of Michael Jordan, who wore it upon his return from retirement in 1995. Mitchell played for Louisville for two years. As a freshman, he mostly saw action as a substitute and averaged just over 7 points, 1 assist, and 3 rebounds per game. He blossomed during his sophomore season. He averaged nearly 16 points, 3 assists, and 5 rebounds per game. He shot over 46 percent on field goal attempts, including just over 35 percent from the three-point line. He also made over 80 percent of his free-throw attempts. Donovan was named first-team All-ACC that season and declared for the 2017 NBA draft.

Donovan was originally drafted with the 13th pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets, but was traded to the Utah Jazz. In his first summer league game with the Jazz, he scored 37 points, which was the highest for any player during that summer league season. As a rookie, he became the first rookie to score over 40 points in a game for any team since 2011. He also set a Jazz record for single-game scoring by a rookie. He was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month several times that season and helped lead the Jazz to the playoffs. Mitchell won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend in 2018.

During his tenure in Utah, Donovan helped lead the team to the playoffs each year, but the team was unable to advance past the second round. After the 2021-22 season, Mitchell was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. During his time in Cleveland, Mitchell has continued to excel, although the team has not experienced much playoff success before 2026.

Donovan Mitchell's Religious Beliefs

Donovan is a devout Christian who regularly posts on social media about his relationship with Jesus Christ. For example, he has stated that "I just give the glory to God. At the end of the day, it's Him working through me." He has also talked about doing Bible studies with his agent, who is also a pastor.

Donovan established a foundation, Spidacares (his nickname is "Spida," a reference to Spider-Man), that focuses on education, social justice, and community health. For example, he pledged $12 million to his former school, Greenwich Country Day School in Connecticut, to assist with scholarships, faculty funding, and athletic facilities. His scholarship donations are intended to help minority students experience educational opportunities. He described his focus this way: "I do a lot of stuff at the school I went to, bringing Black and brown kids to the school on scholarship through basketball so they understand, like, you don't have just to hoop; you don't have just to be a rapper; there are so many other avenues."

Donovan has also helped with supporting people experiencing homelessness by providing essentials to those who are transitioning from temporary housing. He has also spoken out about social justice issues and assisted with humanitarian relief on numerous occasions. Donovan Mitchell clearly seeks to put his Christian faith into practice, both in his personal devotional life and in his community involvement.