Utah Jazz: Two high-flyers endorse Donovan Mitchell for Dunk Contest

Victor Oladipo and Glenn Robinson III of the Indiana Pacers are all on board for Utah Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell participating in this year’s Dunk Contest.

If Utah Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell hasn’t blown your mind yet, you clearly haven’t been paying enough attention. In last night’s much-needed road win against the Sacramento Kings, Mitchell was at it again with a 34-point outpouring and a number of high-flying dunks.

Check out exactly what I’m referring to in the clips below:

Those kinds of acrobatic throw-downs have absolutely become the norm for Donovan Mitchell, whose awesome dunks have begun turning several heads as more and more folks clamor for him to be a participant in this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend Dunk Contest. In fact, following Utah’s discouraging loss to the Indiana Pacers on Monday night, two high-flying Pacers were quick to give their endorsement of Donovan Mitchell themselves.

Per a Deseret News article from Eric Woodyard, reigning Slam Dunk Champion Glenn Robinson III had the following to say about if the exhilarating rookie ought to be one of this year’s contestants:

"“Definitely. Just based off the highlights that I’ve seen and just watching his game. I like his game. I know a lot of people do and a lot of fans is excited and that’s the most important part. So I think that he definitely is going to be on that list to be in it.”"

Unfortunately for Robinson, an ankle injury that has kept him sidelined for the entire 2017-18 season thus far will also hold him out of this year’s Dunk Contest, leaving him unable to defend his title this year. However, his fellow high-flying teammate, Victor Oladipo, may be willing to step in for him. Here’s what Dipo had to say on the matter:

"“Given the opportunity, I might go out there and help Glenn defend his gem since he can’t do it.”"

Considering how electrifying of a dunker Oladipo has been throughout his career, it would be pretty cool if he got the nod to defend his injured teammate’s hardware and a shot at keeping the Slam Dunk Champion title in Indiana. However, if he were to do so, it sounds like Oladipo, just like his teammate Robinson, would be A-OK with having rookie Donovan Mitchell be among the field of contestants as well.

Here’s what Oladipo had to say about Mitchell joining the dunk contest in a second strong endorsement:

"“Oh, yeah definitely. I’ve been watching Donovan since he was in Louisville and we have mutual friends so I’ve been knowing he could jump like that so it’s pretty cool to see him doing what he’s doing.”"

Considering that Oladipo, whose impressive throwdown won “Dunk of the Year” in the first ever NBA Awards last season, and Glenn Robinson III the reigning Dunk Contest Champion both agree that Mitchell deserves to be one of the competitors, I find that hard to argue with. Mitchell has made it clear that he’s open to the idea of participating, but has also emphasized that it’s not his main area of focus. Instead, he’s honed in on getting better and winning games alongside his team.

Still, we’ll see if the support of guys like Oladipo, Robinson and others has any sway to help land Mitchell in the contest. He’s certainly proven worthy all throughout the regular season and it would be an absolute thrill to see him involved.

For what it’s worth, my ideal four contestants for this year’s Dunk Contest would include Donovan Mitchell, Victor Oladipo standing in for Glenn Robinson III, Larry Nance Jr. of the Los Angeles Lakers (I have a few of my favorites of his below) and Terrance Ferguson of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who’s long been known for throwing down savage dunks (some highlights below as well).

Next: Utah Jazz: Somehow, some way a playoff spot remains a possibility

What’s most exciting, though, is that the Utah Jazz’s very own Donovan Mitchell continues to receive and live up to high praise around the league. Whether he finds himself in the 2018 NBA Dunk Contest or not, it’s undeniable that he continues to make a name for himself and turn heads in nearly every game he plays in.

His exciting rookie season alone is enough to make it very clear that the Utah Jazz are in for a bright and entertaining future.