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Donovan Mitchell Wins ESPY for Best Breakthrough Athlete

By Presley Meyer

GREENBURGH, NY - AUGUST 11: Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz poses for a portrait during the 2017 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot at MSG Training Center on August 11, 2017 in Greenburgh, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
GREENBURGH, NY - AUGUST 11: Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz poses for a portrait during the 2017 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot at MSG Training Center on August 11, 2017 in Greenburgh, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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After controversy over who was truly deserving of the NBA Rookie of the Year, Donovan Mitchell wins ESPY for Best Breakthrough Athlete.

Donovan Mitchell is the Best Breakthrough Athlete of 2018.

The former Louisville Cardinal, and Utah Jazz superstar was awarded an ESPY, voted on by the fans, as the best athlete is his or her rookie or break-out season.

The award is given annually to the “sportsperson adjudged to have made the greatest breakthrough in a major international individual sport or North American professional team sport. The award is typically given to a sportsperson in his or her rookie season at a given level but may be won by any athlete who in a given year improves his or her performance dramatically or otherwise becomes well-recognized.”

Mitchell beat out Ben Simmons- who edged him earlier this summer as NBA Rookie of the Year- as well as my fantasy football hero Alvin Kamara, and tennis star Sloane Stephens.

“Don’t let anyone put limits on what you can do,” Mitchell said in his acceptance speech. “People like to do that nowadays…. go out there and be as good as you can be, and you can come out of nowhere and surprise a lot of people.”

Mitchell never put limits on his abilities this season, and now adds his name to the list of some big-name winners in the last decade that include Dak Prescott, Jake Arrieta, Adrian Peterson, Matt Ryan, and Richard Sherman.

Current NBA superstars Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Paul won the award in consecutive years from 2004-2006, and when you add in names like Blake Griffin, you can see why Donovan Mitchell is a part of elite company for the rest of his career.

The possibilities are seemingly endless for Mitchell, who seems to get better as every game passes. His personality, charisma, and likability are off the charts. His freak athleticism- aka “spidey senses”- have always been there. Now that his game is finally catching up to who he is as a person, there’s no telling how far he could go, or where his career could take him.

If one thing is certain though, winning this award bodes well for Mitchell. Though he lost a close battle for Rookie of the Year to Simmons (according to the media), his peers voted him Rookie of the Year, and now the fans have followed suit- voting him the best new athlete in all of sports.

We have known how promising Mitchell’s career has been for years now, here in Louisville. Finally, the world gets to get a glimpse of what makes him so great, and it doesn’t appear anyone is putting limits on him anymore.

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