Michael Anthony Mitchell (January 1, 1956 – June 9, 2011) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA), over eleven seasons, from 1978 to 1990.

College career

Mitchell, who was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

at Auburn University. While at Auburn, Mitchell was a four-time All-SEC selection and was named a second-team All-American in his 1977–78 season. He also became Auburn's all-time leader in scoring (2,123 points) and rebounding (996), after leaving for the NBA. He remains the all-time leading rebounder and is second in all-time scoring only to

Chuck Person Chuck Connors Person (born June 28, 1964) is an American former basketball player and coach. Person played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was the 1987 NBA Rookie of the Year. Person played college basketball at Aubur ...

. Mitchell's number 30 jersey was retired on January 19, 2013, at the Auburn Arena.

Professional career

Mitchell was drafted with the 15th pick in the first round, of the 1978 NBA Draft, by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He started his NBA career with the Cavaliers but played most of his career for the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

. Mitchell was a 6'7" and 234 lb.

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger ...

, with career averages of 19.8 points per game, 5.6

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game, 1.3 assists per game, a .493 field goal percentage, and a .779

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

percentage. Mitchell was an All-Star in 1981 and was in the top ten in scoring four times, and the top ten in minutes played three times. Among other career highlights, he led the Spurs in scoring for the 1984–1985 season, which marked the only season in which

George Gervin George Gervin ( ; born April 27, 1952), nicknamed "the Iceman", is an American former professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Virginia Squires, ...

played on the Spurs and did not lead the team in scoring. Mitchell averaged 22.2 points per game, to Gervin's 21.2 per game. Mitchell averaged 19.8 points per game over the course of his NBA career. His 9,799 total points scored for the San Antonio Spurs is seventh highest in franchise history, behind Gervin,

Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Big Fundamental", he is widely regarded as the greatest power forward of all time and one of the greatest players in NBA histor ...

David Robinson David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003, and minority owner of the Spurs. Nicknamed ...

Tony Parker William Anthony Parker Jr. (born 17 May 1982) is a French-American former professional basketball player and majority owner of ASVEL Basket in LNB Pro A. Himself the son of a basketball pro, Parker started his career at Paris Basket Racing in ...

James Silas James Edward Silas (born February 11, 1949) is a retired American professional basketball player, who played the point guard position. Born in Tallulah, Louisiana, Silas played the majority of his career with the Dallas Chaparrals/San Antonio Spurs ...

, and

Manu Ginóbili Emanuel David Ginóbili Maccari (, , ; born 28 July 1977) is an Argentine former professional basketball player. Over a 23-year professional career, he became one of only two players (along with Bill Bradley) to have won a EuroLeague title, an ...

. From 1988, until a short return to the Spurs during the 1990 playoffs, Mitchell played in Italy, with Basket Brescia. He also played in Italy with

Basket Napoli Napoli Basket, known for sponsorship reasons as GeVi Napoli, is an Italian professional basketball team of the city of Naples. It's the ''de facto'' successor of the Basket Napoli which was dissolved in 2009. The team has achieved the promotion ...

, before leaving for the Israeli side

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

, in 1991. From 1992, until his retirement in 1999, Mitchell played for another Italian club,

Pallacanestro Reggiana Pallacanestro Reggiana, also known for sponsorship reasons as UnaHotels Reggio Emilia, is an Italian professional basketball team based in Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna. It plays in the LBA as of the 2022-23 season. History 1970s Pallacanestro ...

Post-playing career

Mitchell later worked as a counselor for at-risk youth, in San Antonio.

Death

Mitchell died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in 2011.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, 80 , , – , , 19.7 , , .513 , , – , , .736 , , 4.1 , , .8 , , .6 , , .4 , , 10.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , – , , 34.2 , , .523 , , .000 , , .787 , , 7.2 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , .9 , , 22.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , – , , 39.0 , , .476 , , .444 , , .784 , , 6.1 , , 1.7 , , .8 , , .6 , , 24.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 27 , , 26 , , 36.0 , , .454 , , .000 , , .720 , , 5.2 , , 1.4 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , 19.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, 57 , , 57 , , 36.7 , , .539 , , .000 , , .733 , , 7.9 , , .8 , , .6 , , .5 , , 21.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 79 , , 35.0 , , .511 , , .000 , , .758 , , 6.7 , , 1.2 , , .7 , , .7 , , 19.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 79 , , 79 , , 36.1 , , .488 , , .429 , , .779 , , 7.2 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , .9 , , 23.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 34.8 , , .497 , , .217 , , .777 , , 5.1 , , 1.8 , , .7 , , .3 , , 22.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 36.2 , , .473 , , .000 , , .809 , , 5.0 , , 2.3 , , .7 , , .3 , , 23.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 40 , , 18 , , 23.1 , , .435 , , .500 , , .821 , , 2.6 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .2 , , 12.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 68 , , 20 , , 22.1 , , .482 , , .250 , , .825 , , 2.9 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .2 , , 13.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 759 , , 443 , , 32.3 , , .493 , , .216 , , .779 , , 5.6 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .5 , , 19.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 1 , , 0 , , 15.0 , , .500 , , – , , 1.000 , , 4.0 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 14.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1982 , style="text-align:left;",

, 9, , –, , 40.6, , .533, , –, , .754, , 8.1, , .8, , .6, , .1, , 24.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

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, 11, , –, , 38.4, , .510, , .500, , .758, , 9.5, , 1.1, , .6, , 1.7, , 20.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5, , 5, , 36.0, , .564, , .000, , .875, , 3.8, , 2.4, , .6, , .8, , 21.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3, , 3, , 35.7, , .404, , –, , .500, , 3.0, , 3.3, , 1.0, , 1.0, , 15.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3, , 3, , 24.7, , .351, , –, , .833, , 5.0, , 1.3, , .3, , .3, , 10.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4, , 0, , 3.8, , .375, , –, , –, , .8, , .5, , .0, , .0, , 1.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 35 , , 11 , , 33.2 , , .502 , , .333 , , .762 , , 6.4 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , .8 , , 18.5

References

External links

Mike Mitchell page at basketball-reference.com

Lega Basket Serie A Profile & Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Mike 1956 births 2011 deaths African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Auburn Tigers men's basketball players Basket Brescia Leonessa players Basket Napoli players Basketball players from Atlanta Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Cleveland Cavaliers players Deaths from cancer in Texas Lega Basket Serie A players Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players National Basketball Association All-Stars Pallacanestro Reggiana players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) San Antonio Spurs players Small forwards 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people