Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell delivered a rebuke to the perceived insult by Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James after James explained why Jazz players were virtually snubbed for Sunday’s All-Star Game.
The controversy began on Thursday after James responded to Charles Barkley’s comment about the lack of Jazz players being selected.
"You guys gotta understand… In video games growing up, we never played with Utah." 🤣@KingJames responds to Chuck during the #NBAAllStar Draft presented by @Nike pic.twitter.com/6sUOTxDJhX
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 5, 2021
“I just want to say something because there’s no slander to the Utah Jazz but you guys got to understand, just like in video games growing up, we never played with Utah,” James said. “Even as great as Karl Malone and John Stockton were, we never would have picked those guys in video games, never.”
Mitchell took issue with James’ comments and offered a blunt rebuttal.
Donovan Mitchell on LeBron James’ Utah comments during All-Star draft – “I don’t want to be rude but I really don’t care….people have been talking s*** about me for a while…we’re not doing this to seek the approval of him.”
— Sarah Todd (@NBASarah) March 7, 2021
The Jazz currently have an NBA-best record of 27-9, with Mitchell and center Rudy Gobert again powering the team’s success. James and the Lakers have the third-best record in the Western Conference at 24-13, 3.5 games behind the Jazz.
Mitchell and Gobert are hoping to lead the Jazz back to the NBA Finals, a place where Malone and Stockton helped them reach twice during the 1990s. In both cases, they came up short against the legendary Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.
As defending NBA champions, the Lakers should again be in the thick of playoff competition once the postseason begins. That could put them on a collision course with Mitchell and the Jazz.
