“It’s exciting because that’s someone I’ve known for the last seven years…. We play video games together. We talk trash. Hang out,” Josh Hart’s words for Donovan Mitchell back in 2023 still describe the bond the duo shares. A “tight” friendship, but they also have a habit of taking friendly jibes at each other on social media. The same reaches its height during the MLB season. With Donovan Mitchell being a Mets fan and the Knicks player supporting the Yankees, the duo are often willing to fight on X while supporting their respective franchises. And recently, Mitchell revealed the BTS of one of them.

The Cleveland Cavaliers star recently had a lively chat with New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor on the latter’s ‘Café con Lindor’ show. As the topic of conversation shifted to Mitchell’s ‘baseball rivalry’ with Josh Hart, Lindor’s team pulled out a tweet that Mitchell had sent back in December 2024. He had attached the iconic “You Maaaad” gif along with a message that read “Yoo @joshhart get ya mans 😂😂😂 #LFGM”. The same was in response to American actor Nicholas Turturro’s viral rant criticizing Juan Soto signing a signed a contract with the New York Mets and thereby calling an end to a brief journey with the New York Yankees. Mitchell was able to use this shift as a gloating factor since, according to him, he had warned his peer about Soto for a while.

“I told Josh, like I told you, I’ve been recruiting him for some time and…. sometimes you tell people the answer, and it’s like he doesn’t want to believe you,” said Mitchell. “And the whole year with the Yankees like he’s going to resign and Josh was upset, you know, and so are all the Yankee fans, and I’m glad they’re upset”.

Mitchell revealed knowing beforehand that Juna Soto was a ‘Met with a Yankee uniform’, and revealed giving Hart a warning by stating, “I told him like don’t get used to this. Like, he’ll be here. He’ll be in New York next year”. Mitchell did his part and didn’t care what happened after the shift. “So, like, I’m glad that Josh got humiliated on Twitter along with the rest of Yankees Nation,” said the Cavaliers star as Francisco Lindor let out a laugh. “I’m pretty sure they haven’t beat us in the Subway Series, except for that one time, since he’s came here”.

It is no secret that Donovan Mitchell holds baseball close to his heart. More specifically, he holds the New York Mets close. His father, Donovan Sr., has been a longtime front office presence in the Mets organization, having served as both the minor league manager and coach of the Mets. Today, he continues to serve as the Mets’ Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. According to LinkedIn, he has held the position since December ’21.

The NBA star has seldom shied from acknowledging his love for the Mets. Back in January 2024, Donovan Mitchell dropped a sneak peek of his D.O.N. 5s, in which the shoe was mostly covered in white, while also carrying streaks of orange and blue on it. The player revealed the reasoning behind it by stating, “I’m a big Mets fan, so that’s where the orange, blue, and white comes from, got the gum buttoms. And on the inside, it has my version of Mr. Met but as a basketball player”. The Mets have also acknowledged Donovan Mitchell from time to time. The team once showcased him as a special guest during a Mets-Yankees game back in June 2024. They even allowed him to participate in the batting practice session!

The love that Donovan Mitchell has for the Mets and baseball is on another level. Therefore, it wasn’t a surprise that, given his past experience with the sport, the NBA star wants to make that a part of his future too!

Donovan Mitchell Reveals Desire To Pursue Baseball After NBA Retirement: “I’m gonna try to be you”

Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan did something unprecedented when he left basketball back in 1993 and began pursuing baseball a year later. He had a brief yet memorable minor league career with the Barons, after which he soon returned to the Bulls and won 3 more championships. Today, Jordan’s baseball career holds mixed reviews amongst his fans. As ‘Medium’ reporter Allison Wonchoba described, “It felt like a celebrity stunt. It seemed out-of-character, off-brand, unserious — like Kanye West running for president”. Despite that, Donovan Mitchell now wants to follow in the same footsteps.

During the interview with Francisco Lindor, Mitchell highlighted his desire to one day be on the Mets star’s level. Lindor dismissed it, stating that “Brother, it don’t work like that”. Using His Airness as an example, Lindor asked “Since you were so good in baseball, you can relate to Michael Jordan being really good in basketball, went to play baseball. So then you start to wear #45 because of Michael Jordan?” Mitchell said he chose the number “Just to honor my baseball roots. Kind of has some part of me to kind of go back to that”. At the end, he added that “Now I will say, at some point I will try to be you when I’m done playing. I’m gonna try to be you. Watch.”

During his tenure at the Canterbury School in New Milford, Mitchell played both basketball and baseball. Parker Holbrook, one of Mitchell’s baseball teammates, once said that the young athlete “threw two or three no hitters” during a season. However, a collision with a catcher during a baseball game sidelined him and ultimately shifted his focus to basketball. In the grand scheme of things, basketball worked out for Donovan Mitchell. However, his success still could not take his mind completely away from the bat and ball sport.

We don’t know how serious Donovan Mitchell is about pursuing baseball post-retirement from the NBA. Nevertheless, the New York Mets should have a contract ready just in case.