Donovan Mitchell Opens Up About A Crucial Friendship

Donovan Mitchell, now of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Rudy Gobert, now of the Minnesota Timberwolves, were the faces of the Utah Jazz for many years.

They were spoken of as one of the best duos in the league and, sure enough, the Jazz found a lot of regular-season success with them on board.

But the team never thrived in the postseason and the team decided to send them both away in the offseason.

“Him and I have a great relationship, despite what people may feel. On the court, it didn’t work. I don’t hate Rudy. He doesn’t hate me. It was just one of those things where it just didn’t work out…”

Donovan Mitchell on Rudy Gobert

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There were always many rumors about Mitchell and Gobert and their relationship: did they get along or did they get on each others’ nerves?

Now, Mitchell is opening up about his working relationship with Gobert.

“Him and I have a great relationship, despite what people may feel. On the court, it didn’t work. I don’t hate Rudy. He doesn’t hate me. It was just one of those things where it just didn’t work out.”

These comments push back against some of the speculations about these two.

Mitchell Making Nice

For the final few years of their partnership, there was talk about Mitchell and Gobert not getting along well behind the scenes.

This was especially true following the NBA shut down during COVID.

Some people forget that Gobert was the first NBA star to contract the virus and his diagnosis was the catalyst for shutting down the league.

There were rumors that Mitchell was unhappy with Gobert and how flippantly he treated the virus.

But there were also rumors of Mitchell and Gobert just grating on one another.

However, Mitchell says that wasn’t the case.

He claims that they had a strong friendship, no matter what the critics said, but it just didn’t translate into success.