Donovan Mitchell

Donovan Mitchell has been one of the NBA's most reliable playoff performers for half a decade, and the 2026 postseason has only reinforced that reputation. He leads all players in total playoff points scored with 414, a number that reflects not just talent but durability — Mitchell has carried Cleveland through two seven-game series before reaching the conference finals, grinding past the Raptors and then surviving a grueling Game 7 against the Pistons that will be discussed in Ohio for years. That Game 7 performance was a statement of character as much as skill: 26 points, zero turnovers, and a stat line that placed him alongside Kobe Bryant as the only two players in NBA history to record 25-plus points, 5-plus rebounds, 5-plus assists, and zero turnovers in a playoff Game 7. The company is self-explanatory. Mitchell is a seven-time All-Star who posted a career-high 71 points in a 2023 regular season game, and his ceiling — physically, mentally, competitively — is clearly as high as any two-guard in the league. The challenge now is that the Cavaliers trail the Knicks 0-2, heading into Game 3 in Cleveland on May 23. Mitchell's 25.9 points per game in these playoffs, combined with 3.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds, have not yet been enough to steal home-court advantage back. The Eastern Conference Finals represent his first appearance at this stage in his career, and the burden of that fact — the years of first and second-round exits that preceded this moment — is visible in how intensely he competes on every possession. Cleveland's season now depends on whether he can find an extra gear at home.