‘We were in the locker room for NINE HOURS’: Donovan Mitchell lifts lid on dramatic night NBA got shut down due to Covid and how he thought a SHOOTER was in the building… as he thanks Chris Paul for sending 15 bottles of wine to the players
- Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell revealed the wild events after the NBA shutdown
- Mitchell, then of Utah, saw a game vs. OKC Thunder called off thanks to Covid
- The players were forced to stay in the locker room where they got drunk off wine
- After failing to organize a jet, Jazz players sat curbside at their hotel for the night
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Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell has opened up on the night when the NBA was first shut down due to Covid, explaining incredible behind-the-scenes details of what went on.
Mitchell, then a member of the Utah Jazz, was involved in a last-minute cancellation of a crucial late season game with the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 11, 2020.
Players were out warming up on the floor and fans were seated in the stadium before the game was postponed, a day before the NBA suspended the season as a result of the virus.
OKC players were told to leave the court after the game was postponed, then later canceled
Donovan Mitchell opened up on the extraordinary circumstances on a recent podcast
Players were promptly told to exit the floor but could not leave their locker room for an astonishing nine hours, as Mitchell revealed on The Old Man and The Three podcast.
Star Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive in the lead up to Utah’s game in Oklahoma and was the NBA’s patient zero. Mitchell ultimately contracted the virus thereafter.
‘Out of nowhere all these suits just came right on the floor,’ Mitchell said of the night in Oklahoma City. ‘I am like, “it must be a shooter in the building or something crazy is happening.”
It never dawned on me that it was that until it was… no one’s saying anything, it’s just that the game was cancelled.
Fans were also told to exit the stadium following announcements that the game would not proceed
‘This is back when we didn’t know anything, we didn’t know anything. We were in the locker room for nine hours after the game. First of all, Oklahoma did not want us to go anywhere.’
Phoenix point guard, Chris Paul — formerly of the Thunder — managed to help his rivals pass the time with a special present for the entire Jazz locker room.
Shoutout to CP, he sent us 15 bottles of wine that night. We got drunk, I am not going to lie to you. We were just like, “We got no game for a while.”
It was a bizarre night ahead of the NBA’s initial suspension before the NBA bubble came to be
‘Everybody is calling. We are on FaceTime. Everybody you could think of is calling everybody in the locker room. Like we are trying to drink not to be scared. It was one of those moments, you are just helpless.’
The strange turn of events didn’t stop there. Once Utah left the stadium, Mitchell tried his best to organize a private jet to fly the Jazz home, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Despite that, the players opted against heading straight to bed.
‘None of us went to sleep. We were just sitting there on the curb outside of the Renaissance hotel,’ Mitchell said. ‘Just sitting on a curb, drinking Bud Lights, and chatting. Because we like, “This is the craziest thing I have ever experienced.”
Players and coaches, including the Thunder’s HC, Billy Donovan (C), were utterly in the dark
It was just like a scene out of a movie. I will never forget that night. I have pictures on my phone from that night that I will probably frame up in my house at some point in time, and tell my kids this was one of the biggest moments in sports and in the history of the country.’
Mitchell starred during his debut for the Cleveland Cavaliers after an offseason trade from Utah, despite the Cavs losing 108-105 to Toronto.
The three-time All-Star put up 31 points on 12-21 from the field, in addition to two rebounds and nine assists.
Donovan Mitchell is now a member of the Eastern Conference hopeful Cleveland Cavaliers
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