What Donovan Mitchell said about his full-circle moment at All-Star 2023

In 2018 Donovan Mitchell was on a flight to Los Angeles for All-Star Weekend. With him were a number of higher-ups within the Jazz organization who told him that they were going to be submitting a bid to host the All-Star Game in 2023.

“I grew up here, as a player, as a person, as a man. Then to be back here as a starter. It’s one of those things — like I was a Cleveland fan growing up, so that’s a full-circle moment.” — Donovan Mitchell

Mitchell signed a jersey on that flight that said, “We hope to see you in 2023.”

On Sunday night Mitchell played in Salt Lake City as an All-Star starter for Team Giannis in the 2023 All-Star Game at Vivint Arena. Though it wasn’t as a member of the Utah Jazz, it was still special for Mitchell and it was one of many moments that felt like everything just lined up and happened as it was supposed to.

“I grew up here, as a player, as a person, as a man,” Mitchell said after the game on Sunday. “Then to be back here as a starter. It’s one of those things — like I was a Cleveland fan growing up, so that’s a full-circle moment. You have all these full-circle moments. I’m in Cleveland and then come back here for All-Star, it’s almost like it makes sense. I think it’s truly special.”

Although Mitchell was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the offseason, Jazz brass were pretty happy when they learned that Mitchell was voted an All-Star starter this year.

“We thought to ourselves, how cool is it that Donovan will see us in 2023,” former executive vice president of the Utah Jazz, Don Stirling said.

With the luxury of still owning a home in Salt Lake City, Mitchell was able to come back to comfort for the All-Star break, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to be busy. On top of attending multiple events throughout the weekend, Mitchell also hosted a comedy show in Salt Lake, of which the proceeds went to Kearns High.

“That, for me, is one of my prouder moments,” Mitchell said. “Still being able to give back even though I’m not here — that’s forever going to stay with me … Then the game. It’s one of those things — my first time as a starter — you’ll never forget. Like I said, I came in here as a young kid and started to grow up a little bit. For me to be here in this moment and in this position, God is good, and I’m forever grateful.”

In the actual main event, Mitchell started out the night with an assist. Moments after the All-Star Game started, Mitchell threw up a lob to Utah Jazz All-Star starter Lauri Markkanen and the crowd went wild. 

It felt like an official passing of the torch. The Jazz were once Mitchell’s team, and now Markkanen is the best player on the Jazz roster. Though there was no discussion beforehand about the play — it was just something that happened naturally — the symbolism was not lost on Mitchell.

“It’s one of those things, just another one of those moments,” he said. “It’s just funny how those things work out … I’ve known Lauri for a while. It’s great to see him out here thriving, and it was great to have that moment.”

Mitchell had plenty of his own standout moments throughout the night. There was a point in the third quarter when it wasn’t clear who was going to run away and take the All-Star MVP award — Mitchell, or Team Giannis teammate Jayson Tatum.

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Eventually it was Tatum that would go on to break the All-Star single game scoring record, closing the night out with 55 points. 

“There was a point in time where I was like, ‘Hey, I need an assist.’ That’s why I gave the ball back to him, and he ended up shooting it and making it,” Mitchell said. “At the end of the day he caught fire. It’s all love.”

But Mitchell had a very respectable 40 points on the night and was very happy for Tatum, who Mitchell has known since high school. Just another full-circle moment.

There could be more of those waiting for Mitchell in the future. Who knows, someday he could end up playing in the Finals against the Jazz. No matter the circumstances, Mitchell likes being in Utah and is happy when he gets a chance to come back. This time, it just felt a little more special, after watching all of the work behind the scenes to make it all happen.

“I’m honored to be here, honored to be back,” he said. “The love I’ve received is awesome.”

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