Photo credit: NBA.Com/Stats, Donovan Mitchell. (X)
Donovan Mitchell has built one of the best careers among NBA guards. He’s a seven time All-Star at 29, and he earned All-NBA First Team honors in 2025. He’s still chasing his first championship. The Cleveland Cavaliers star recently revealed why that career almost started somewhere else, at Villanova under Jay Wright.
Jay Wright’s honesty led Donovan Mitchell away from Villanova
College recruiters pursued Mitchell heavily out of high school. He met with several college coaches before choosing where to play. His conversation with Wright changed his mind completely.
Mitchell recently described that meeting. He explained what made it stand out. Wright told him Villanova players stayed three to four years, no matter how well they played. He said no player could leave early, even a future NBA lottery pick. Mitchell respected that honesty. It worked against his own uncertainty about his future at the time. He added that many coaches make promises early. Then they try to hold a player back once that player gets good enough to leave.
Villanova’s loss became part of Louisville’s era
Mitchell chose Louisville instead. He played two seasons with the Cardinals between 2015 and 2017 before declaring for the NBA draft. Denver picked him 13th overall. The Jazz later acquired him in a trade, and he developed into one of the league’s top scorers. He has spent the past several seasons with the Cavaliers. He remains one of the most productive shooting guards in basketball, though a championship has continued to elude him. He signed a four year extension with the Cavaliers this summer, doubling down on that title chase in Cleveland.
Wright’s stay three or four years approach still produced champions
Villanova did not miss Mitchell for long. The program won national championships in 2016 and 2018. Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart led that run. Each player stayed under Wright’s system for multiple seasons before turning professional. Brunson, Bridges and Hart have each gone on to notable NBA careers of their own.
Wright’s approach did not fit every recruit. Mitchell’s decision to leave for Louisville after two seasons shows how differently his path could have looked. Still, the coach’s insistence on player development over quick turnover became one of the defining traits of his program. That approach produced two national titles and a wave of future NBA talent.
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