Jazz rookie still carrying NYC swagger
LOS ANGELES — Jazz rookie point guard Donovan Mitchell isn’t a Knick, but he admits he carries that New York bravado with him on the court.
And, yes, part of his soul wishes former Knicks president Phil Jackson had taken a chance on a local kid instead of reaching to France.
The leading candidate for Rookie of the Year, Mitchell, who grew up in Westchester County, faced off against Knicks rookie Frank Ntilikina of the World team on Friday in the USA’s 155-124 loss in the Rising Stars game. Mitchell scored seven points and added five steals for the U.S. squad.
Despite Jackson’s fondness for Mitchell, the Zen Master allowed the super-athletic guard to fall to 13, where Utah got lucky. Mitchell also will compete in Saturday’s Slam-Dunk contest.
“Being back home would’ve been cool, playing in front of friends and family,” Mitchell said Friday. “But in the same light, I’m happy where I’m at. They got a great rookie in Frank. He’s going to be a star. He’s figuring it out offensively. Defensively, he’s already there. … I’m blessed to be where I’m at. There’s definitely a part of me that — who wouldn’t want to play back home and be where they grew up?”
Over the summer, Mitchell and Ntilikina worked out some in New York. It’s not a bad idea for Mitchell to spend as much time with Ntilikina as possible this offseason as the Jazz guard carries himself with a certain boldness he picked up from playing AAU ball in New York.
Mitchell was a member of The City and Riverside Hawks, two AAU teams based in Manhattan. He said his first dunk was in Harlem in a layup line as an eighthgrader before an AAU game.
“The biggest thing with my AAU team, we played with hunger and fire,” Mitchell said. “You develop that New York swagger, always playing with heart and grit. That’s why I couldn’t shoot. They say New York guards can’t shoot. You develop that mentality of not giving up. We had weeklong training camp before the nationals. We took naps in the gym. You felt intensity and focus at an early age.
“I think it just comes naturally coming from that area. You feel there’s so many legends. Lance Stephenson was a legend. Kenny Anderson, Kemba Walker. There’s so many guys from New York. You want to put your name up with them.”
Former Louisville coach Rick Pitino told The Post before the draft he never saw one of his players improve his outside jumper from one year to the next as much as Mitchell, who came out after his sophomore season.
He wasn’t forecast as a lottery pick until late in the process after measurements at the Chicago pre-draft revealed a 7-foot wingspan. Now he clearly has been the best performer of the 2017 draft class, averaging 19.6 points on 44 percent shooting, with 3.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds.
“One hundred percent [surprised],” Mitchell said. “This wasn’t part of my Donovan Mitchell book on coming to the NBA, one-and-done.
“The Rookie of the Year award, I’d rather make the playoffs than win the award,” added Mitchell, whose Jazz are on an 11-game game win streak and one game out of the eighth seed. “The award lasts one season. The playoffs have that memory and bond for years in trying to win the title. I’d rather have memory with my teammates.”
He was asked what it would be like if all this were happening as a Knick. The largest throng of media already surrounded him during the rookie-sophomore media availability.
“I don’t think, ‘Man, what would it be if I put up 40 at the Garden,’ ” Mitchell said. “It’s more like during the draft process how it would be great. I don’t reflect where I could’ve been because I’m extremely happy where I’m at.”