Utah Jazz: 3 reasons why Mitchell (not Gobert) will be voted an All-Star

Mitchell will win popular vote

Early results from the fan’s All-Star poll weren’t encouraging for Jazz fans. Here are some names that received more votes than Donovan Mitchell:

• Tacko Fall
• Derrick Rose
• Carmelo Anthony

Well that sounds bad, his case wasn’t nearly as bad as Gobert’s. Rudy failed to crack the top 10 in the frontcourt voting for the Western Conference. The NBA fans sent the message that they would rather have Kristaps Porzingis, Brandon Ingram, and Dwight Howard get the honor of being an All-Star than Rudy Gobert.

For comparison, Howard is playing less than 20 minutes a game as a backup center. Porzingis started the season playing awful after recovering from knee surgery, and while Ingram has been the best player on his team this year, the Pelicans sit at 14th in the Western Conference.

Fortunately the fans don’t have total control of who gets in the game. A panel of media members as well as NBA players will account for 50 percent of the vote for All-Star game starters. This could help Mitchell out as an underdog to oust James Harden for the backcourt spot in the starting lineup.

Mitchell has shown in less than three years as a pro that he can make friends with other NBA players. In addition to being an awesome teammate and having the support of his former teammates across the league (take Favors and Ricky Rubio buying his D.O.N shoes for example), Mitchell has connections through his Team USA experiences, college ball, and AAU tournaments.

He grew up with Eric Paschall and played on the same high school team as Devonte’ Graham, and you can tell that both of those guys have a lot of respect for Mitchell. After the final buzzer sounds, you can often catch Mitchell lingering on the court having a conversation with players of the opposing team (such as Karl-Anthony Towns and Trae Young this season).

These kinds of connections are things that Gobert doesn’t have as strongly as his third year teammate. Since Rudy grew up in France (67 million people) instead of the United States (327 million), he doesn’t have as much of an influence among the American NBA fans. He doesn’t have NCAA and AAU connections with NBA players the same way Mitchell does, because Gobert never played in either of those leagues.

To top it all off, Mitchell’s game is easier to fall in love with than Gobert’s. The All-Star game is notoriously known for having no defense played, allowing for players to show off dunks and impressive dribble moves for the fans.

Mitchell became so popular rather quickly because of his offensive prowess. As a spectator, would you be more likely to jump out of your seat from A) a killer cross-over with broken ankles, or B) a contested layup attempt that ends in a miss and defensive rebound?

Would you rather watch A) an electrifying dunk from a 6-foot-1 guard, or B) a wide open jumpshot created from a big man setting a good screen for his teammate?

This describes the play of Mitchell versus Gobert’s. Rudy has constantly been a league leader in rim protection and screen assists. He’s terrific for the Jazz on both sides of the ball, and the most unselfish player on the Jazz. He deserves the honor of being an All-Star to add to his resume, but the problem is that style of play isn’t what most casual fans pay to see on the court.

Through no fault of his own, Gobert will lose the popular vote of the fans, players and media. Mitchell most likely will too, but he has a better shot than Gobert.