Donovan Mitchell Defends James Harden Following Cavaliers' Playoff Exit

The Cleveland Cavaliers acquired veteran guard James Harden from the Los Angeles Clippers at the trade deadline in exchange for Darius Garland.

Harden played a key role in Cleveland's run to the Eastern Conference Finals, helping the Cavaliers defeat both the Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons in seven-game series.

However, with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line against the New York Knicks, the Cavaliers were swept, and Harden struggled throughout the series.

He averaged just 14.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game while shooting an abysmal 31.2% from the field and 12.5% from three-point range.

While Harden was far from the only player who struggled, his postseason history has once again subjected him to criticism. Fellow Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell, however, was not having it and recently defended Harden following Cleveland's playoff exit.

"I've watched [Harden] for nine years. I've watched it and to see it firsthand, the work ethic, the passion, the IQ, the leadership. The man just gets a bad rep," Mitchell said in an interview with Andscape. "And I talked about how he changed the game and all that stuff, but he did. Yeah, sure, has he had some rough moments? I'm sure we all have. LeBron James is one of the greatest players ever. We don't really speak on the Dallas Mavericks Finals in 2011 when he struggled with the Miami Heat. We don't speak on Michael Jordan taking eight years to get to the Finals. We speak on the wins."

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Mitchell continued by explaining how sports fans often focus more on failures than accomplishments.

"I saw Denzel Washington say this. He's won three Oscars. And the first thing he said to the interviewer was like, ‘Yeah, but I lost eight times.' We don't talk about that, right? We talk about what? Success, success, success. We don't talk about the failures. And we really harp on the failures, and I hate that part about the world we live in. But it is what it is. Not just with him, but with me, with our team, that's just what it's always going to be."

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This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 11:57 AM.