Donovan Mitchell etched his name next to Cleveland Cavaliers icon LeBron James.
In the Cleveland Cavaliers' 114-98 win against the Orlando Magic, Donovan Mitchell etched his name next to the one and only LeBron James.
Mitchell recorded his fifth 45-point game at home with the Cavaliers, tying James' record. The shooting guard finished with 45 points, four rebounds and four assists while shooting 15-of-25 from the field, 5-of-8 from 3 and 10-of-12 from the free-throw line.
Guess who the Cavaliers play at home next? James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
It would be quite the story to see Mitchell score 45 points against the Lakers at home and break James' record.
The Cavaliers are playing really good basketball right now. They are 7-3 in their last 10 games and enter the Lakers game on a four-game winning streak. The Wine and Gold are 28-20. They are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Mitchell, as usual, is putting up stellar numbers this season. The All-Star shooting guard is averaging 29.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game while shooting 48.5% from the field, 38.5% from beyond the arc and 83.9% from the free-throw line.
James, 41, becomes an unrestricted free agent this offseason. He hasn't announced whether he will retire this offseason or continue playing, so Wednesday could be his final game in Cleveland.
James is the best player in Cavaliers history. He will get his No. 23 jersey retired by the franchise one day.
James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving guided the Cavaliers to the 2016 NBA championship against the 73-9 Golden State Warriors. It's the only championship Cleveland has won.
James is the leading scorer in NBA history. He's also a four-time MVP, four-time champion and four-time Finals MVP.
Mitchell was born in 1996, so he grew up a James fan.
"When I was young and I had the Michael Jordan VHS tapes. 'The Incredibulls.' 'The Unstoppabulls.' I've never watched Michael [live]," Mitchell wrote in his diary for Andscape. "All I had was that. So, the person I got to see was 'Bron. That was who was, in a sense, our Michael Jordan for my generation. To grow up a fan of his. … I joke and tell people all the time when I used to watch our in-arena announcer, now his name is Ahmaad [Crump], I would replicate that in the house and scream and say all the things that Ahmaad says currently to this day.
"Even watching them in the [NBA] Finals right before I got into the league my first year. Watching [the Cavs against] Golden State in 2016, 2017. And then my first year of league, I came to the Finals as a [media] correspondent, and I watched them play in Cleveland. To be here now, to be the guy in Cleveland, to be in that spot is pretty surreal just because you know I've had the jersey. You see it growing up and just to be able to be in that spot is something that's pretty wild to me. Just watching [James] growing up take Cleveland to such heights, we as a team would love to do the same."
Cavaliers Roundtable also offers a fan community and message board. We’d love to have you join us to talk all things Cavaliers. Click the “Join” button at the top of the page to join our community for free.