Donovan Mitchell is one of the most dynamic offensive talents in the NBA today. His game has been compared to the likes of legends like Dwayne Wade. Mitchell has been amazing for the Utah Jazz and has become the leader and face of the franchise. After his 36 point game against the New York Knicks today, Mitchell became the 3rd fastest player to reach 8000 points in franchise history.
So who are the two other stars that scored 8000 points before Donovan Mitchell did? It was two other Jazz legends that were prolific scorers in their time – Pete Maravich (Pistol Pete) and Adrian Dantley. What must be noted is that while Mitchell’s points have come from the 2-4 3 pointers he has averaged across his career Maravich and Dantley did not get their points off of 3 pointers as much.
In Maravich’s case, the 3 point line did not even exist for the majority of his career. Pistol Pete played from 1970 to 1980. The 3 point line was introduced only in his final year of playing in the NBA. In the case of Adrian Dantley, while the 3 point line was there he did not take many of them and a majority of his scoring was inside the 3 point line. The 3 point line has turned out to be a huge advantage for Donovan Mitchell.
Mitchell has been the driving force of the Jazz offense. While he does get points occasionally from Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Jordan Clarkson, it is usually up to him to carry the team. So far Mitchell has not disappointed us in the regular season.
When it comes to the postseason though, the Jazz have fallen short. Despite Mitchell’s great performances, they have always come short and exited in the first or second round of the playoffs. This year the Utah Jazz look great but we have yet to see if they can perform at a high level in the postseason.
