After the Cleveland Cavaliers crushed the Los Angeles Lakers in what could've been LeBron James' final game at Rocket Arena, one of the young standouts of the night, Jaylon Tyson, felt that Donovan Mitchell deserved to be recognized for his leadership. So when Cleveland's All-Star guard was asked about the stage and what The King means to the area, the second-year Cavs swingman intervened with a viral proclamation.
“Can I say something? This is Donovan Mitchell's city now,” Tyson told ESPN's Jorge Sedano in a joint postgame interview. “When he comes back here, we're gonna make sure that everybody roots for him like they did for [LeBron].”
Tyson was asked about the moment in the press room alongside Mitchell, and he felt it necessary to explain his reasoning.
“There was no disrespect there,” Tyson said. “I didn't want to disrespect or step on nobody's toes. That's one of the greatest players to ever play the game. Obviously, I was a Cavs fan growing up because of him. I didn't want to take away [from] him, but I just wanted to give Don his flowers. That was my biggest goal in it.
“And if I offended anybody or anybody got mad about it, I'm sorry. I take personal responsibility, but I just wanted to give the man his flowers because we want to do the same thing that Bron and them did here. We want to do that with him as our leader.”
Immediately following Tyson's comments, Mitchell was appreciative of him but gave his props to LeBron.
“At the end of the day, he's laid the foundation,” Mitchell said to ESPN. “They've done a lot for the city, being from here. Obviously, we want to replicate that. He deserves the energy that he's got here. At the end of the day, first title in [52] years. For us, we're trying to do it, obviously, differently, but we're trying to find ways to go out there and bring the city another championship.
“But when you have support like that from your teammates, it means the world.”
Known to ruffle some feathers with his fearlessness, Tyson's intentions were more about uplifting his guy than stealing the spotlight. He's also one to back up his talk, which showed during the Cavs' blowout of the Lakers on Wednesday.
