Donovan Mitchell proved he was a man of his word on Sunday as he led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Mitchell powered his team to a resounding 125-94 victory over the Detroit Pistons in Game 7 in front of a stunned home crowd at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich. The 7-time All-Star poured in a game-high 26 points on 10/22 shooting to go along with 7 rebounds and 8 assists.
With the victory, Mitchell’s old quote from last year’s playoffs resurfaced online. The Cavaliers guard promised that his team would be back to silence their doubters in an emotional final press conference.
“We’re a good team,” Mitchell told reporters in 2025 after the 1-seed Cavaliers got upset by the Indiana Pacers.
“For four games, we didn’t show what we’re capable of. And ultimately, that’s what we’re judged on. … Y’all gonna write us the f–k off, man. But will be back. We let the city down, we let each other down, but we will be back.”
“Y’all are gonna write us the f*** off man… We’ll be back.”
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 14, 2025
— Donovan Mitchell
(via @camijustice)pic.twitter.com/Z6sW675WMI
Mitchell and the Cavs did come back in a big way, overcoming a 9-point effort from James Harden to get to the conference finals. It’s the first time in Mitchell’s career that he has gotten one series away from the NBA Finals.
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert never lost hope in his team. The billionaire shelled out a ton of money to get Cavs fans in the building for the contest, covering travel expenses to bring fans on the road with the team. Mitchell and Co. made sure to give those fans something to cheer about.
