Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell shares his favorite sports nicknames

When the Beacon Journal asked Donovan Mitchell for his favorite sports nicknames, the Cavaliers All-Star guard drifted from the realm of basketball and into another wheelhouse.

Mitchell was a star baseball player growing up, and his father, Donovan Mitchell Sr., is the senior director of diversity, equity and inclusion and player relations for the New York Mets.

In other words, Mitchell was actually on brand when he mentioned Ken Griffey Jr.’s alias “The Kid” before any other nicknames of professional athletes. His other two picks came from the NBA — “Melo” for Carmelo Anthony and “Flash” for Dwyane Wade.

The topic arose because Mitchell’s nickname is “Spida,” and he earned the label as an AAU basketball phenom from New York.