Lakers News: Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell Responds To LeBron James’ Utah Comments

Ron Gutterman
3 Min Read
Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is no stranger to being in the headlines for seemingly harmless comments. This happened yet again on Thursday night during the All-Star Draft when he joked about the entire Utah Jazz franchise after Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert were selected dead last by him and Kevin Durant.

Following the draft, James and Durant were asked why the two Jazz players went last despite having the NBA’s best record. James responded by saying that growing up playing video games, he never once picked the Jazz, even in their 1990’s heyday with Karl Malone and John Stockton.

While funny in the moment, it likely was not taken well among Jazz fans, and it definitely wasn’t taken well by Mitchell. He responded to the comments, saying that he doesn’t care what James says about him and his team, according to Sarah Todd of Deseret News:

While James’ comments had absolutely nothing to do with Mitchell and Gobert individually, it’s understandable why the two might take it personally. They currently have a multi-game lead for the best record in the entire league and got picked after several inferior players.

The pinnacle of this was James emphasizing his need for size with Gobert still on the board only to take Indiana Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis.

While Mitchell says he doesn’t care, it’s clear that the remarks affected him and the Jazz. This could give them even more motivation as they look to capture the first championship in their franchise’s history. As it stands, they should have home-court advantage in their favor.

James jokes about drafting ‘enemy’ in Paul George

James also had another funny moment during the draft, stating that it would be the only time he would ever root for Paul George after drafting him due to them being “enemies” from rivaling L.A. teams.

It turns out James drafted the better team as they cruised to victory over Team Durant, earning money for charity in the process.

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Ron Gutterman is a Washington State University alum from Anaheim, California, and is currently a Staff Writer for LakersNation.com, RamsNewsWire.com, and RaidersNewsWire.com. He is also the lead editor for AngelsNation.com. With Lakers Nation, Rams News Wire, Raiders News Wire, and Angels Nation, Ron assists in news, game coverage, analysis, and hot takes via his Twitter account, @rongutterman24. Without a doubt, Ron's favorite Laker, and favorite athlete of all time, is Kobe Bryant. Ron began watching basketball when he was 6 years old, in 2005, when Bryant was dragging the likes of Smush Parker and Ronny Turiaf to playoff spots. Ron's all time favorite Lakers moment was Bryant's final game when he dropped 60 points. While the Lakers beating the Celtics in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, as Metta World Peace hit the game clinching three, will always be a top option, Bryant's final night takes the cake. Contact: ron@mediumlargela.com
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