CLEVELAND, Ohio — Donovan Mitchell’s All-Star fate is now in the hands of NBA coaches.
Mitchell, the Cavs’ leading scorer and MVP candidate, was snubbed as an Eastern Conference All-Star starter.
Announced Monday afternoon, Mitchell got beat out by Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo, Boston’s Jaylen Brown, New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham and Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers — a quintet voted on by fans, media members and players.
Antetokounmpo was the East’s top vote-getter.
Just like years past, fan voting accounted for 50% of the total vote while players and a panel of select media accounted for 25% apiece.
Mitchell finished sixth in each voting group.
Mitchell entered this season seeking his seventh consecutive All-Star appearance and third starting nod. He would’ve been just the second player in Cavaliers history to start at least three separate All-Star Games, joining franchise legend LeBron James.
Maybe next year.
Mitchell will now hope to reach Los Angeles — the site of the 2026 All-Star Game — as a reserve.
The 14 reserves, seven from each conference, will be chosen by NBA coaches and announced next week on NBC.
In 39 games this season, the 29-year-old Mitchell is averaging career-bests in points (29.2), field goal percentage (48.9) and 3-point percentage (39.1) while also dishing out 5.7 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game. The league leader in second half scoring, Mitchell is also tied for the most 30-point games in the conference.
In the face of the Cavs’ disappointing start to the season — 24-19 overall and fifth place in the East — Mitchell has been a source of stability.
Cleveland is outscoring opponents by 8.0 points per 100 possessions with Mitchell on the court. That number plummets to minus-6.0 when he is off. It’s one of the league’s most drastic net rating differentials — a metric that helps encapsulate his nightly impact.
The five Western Conference All-Stars are reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver center Nikola Jokic, Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama, Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic and Golden State’s Stephen Curry.
In a new U.S. vs. World format, there will be two teams of U.S. players and one team of international players (known as the World team) that compete in a round-robin tournament featuring four 12-minute games. The three teams will each have a minimum of eight players. If voting does not result in the selection of 16 U.S. players and eight international players (which can include American players with ties to other countries if necessary), NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will select additional All-Stars to join either group to reach that minimum. In that case, at least one team would have more than eight players.
The 2026 All-Star Game will be held at Los Angeles’ Intuit Dome on Sunday, Feb. 15.
