Utah Jazz: Donovan Mitchell not showing in All-Star fan vote

The Utah Jazz have begun the Donovan Mitchell All-Star campaign on social media, but the rookie isn’t factoring into the fan vote.

Utah Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell just had himself a December to remember. In 13 games last month, he averaged 23 points, four assists and three rebounds per contest en route to earning Rookie of the Month honors. In the meantime, talk about a spot in February’s NBA All-Star Game has begun to percolate in Jazzland.

That said, a surprise nod in the big game is probably unlikely for Mitchell. Although the Jazz have been campaigning hard for their first-year phenom via social media, it hasn’t made a major impact on the fan vote.

The first wave results for All-Star fan voting dropped on Thursday and Mitchell was noticeably absent from the field. However, four other rookies did manage to hit the top 10 in their position groups.

Ben Simmons was the fourth-leading vote-getter among East guards, while Jayson Tatum came in at No. 7 among the conference’s frontcourt players. Out West, Lonzo Ball beat Mitchell out in the guard pool, hitting the No. 8 spot and Kyle Kuzma, his Los Angeles Lakers teammate, was ninth among frontcourt players.

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The only player with Jazz ties to appear in the top 10 in his position group in either conference was the New York Knicks’ Enes Kanter, who was the ninth-leading vote-getter among the East’s frontcourt players.

Entering the season, Jazz big man Rudy Gobert felt like a shoe-in for his first All-Star nod. However, his knee injuries have essentially killed any chance for selection this season.

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In all likelihood, Mitchell’s best hope for an All-Star nod is the coaches vote. However, I wouldn’t bet on West coaches voting for a rookie from a team outside of the playoff race when the conference’s guard line includes the likes of Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul, to name a few.

The league will release its next fan voting update on Thursday, January 11. All-Star voting wraps up on Monday, January 15.