Donovan Mitchell named finalist for Teammate of the Year Award

Mitchell is one of 12 finalists.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell was named one of the 12 finalists for the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award on Wednesday afternoon. The finalists were made up of six players from each conference. The winner will be determined by a vote from current NBA players.

The Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year has been around since 2013. No Cavalier has won the award before. Mike Conley, of the Minnesota Timberwolves, won the award in 2024. Georges Niang, who was a Cavalier at the time, came in fifth in voting last year.

Mitchell’s inclusion on this list doesn’t surprise his head coach.

“The thing that always comes [to mind] with Donovan is he empowers others,” Atkinson said before Wednesday’s game against the New York Knicks. “Subtly, not outwardly. Obviously, empowering Evan [Mobley], getting him more touches and understanding that he’s got to be a bigger part of this. Darius [Garland] too. Darius coming off a tough season, Donovan understood that. He’s got great awareness of where this team is.”

That understanding has allowed Mitchell to be a good teammate. It also helped Atkinson transition into the head coaching role this season.

“My first impression — great impression — of him was, was just going through the roster with him,” Atkinson said. “His understanding of everybody on the team [was impressive]. ... It’s like getting a ChatGPT report on every guy. Like, right to the T. Like, man, this guy’s got a great understanding of each player. And not only of the on-court stuff, but the off-court stuff. He gave me a lot of hints on how to coach guys.

“I can’t say enough about his leadership this year.”