Whenever the Utah Jazz lose a star, the fans let them know how they feel about their departure when they return. To this day, Jazz fans still hold a grudge against Gordon Hayward, and for good reason. They once held that same grudge against Deron Williams, but they have forgiven him. Then there's Donovan Mitchell.
Mitchell left the Jazz once it was abundantly clear the team had peaked and would never get over the hump in 2022. During his five years with the Jazz, Mitchell never complained and never had a bad thing to say about Utah.
Mitchell's only issue was his combative relationship with Rudy Gobert. Impressively, they tried to work past that, but it didn't translate into playoff success regardless. Once it was clear those teams weren't going anywhere, the writing was on the wall.
Despite all of the turbulence, Jazz fans still hold Mitchell in high regards, and they let him know it when the Jazz faced him and his current team, the Cavaliers.
Donovan Mitchell gets a nice ovation from the delta center crowd during introductions
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) March 23, 2025
It is heartwarming that fans hold absolutely nothing against Mitchell. Even more so, they still celebrate his time with the team. He clearly holds a special place in their hearts because he helped keep the Jazz relevant after Hayward's departure in 2017, when many thought they would enter a rebuilding phase.
Unless Mitchell says something to tear down Utah or the Jazz, which isn't like him as he's proven himself be quite classy, it'll stay that way for the rest of his NBA career.
Will Donovan Mitchell get his number retired?
Mitchell played for the Jazz for five years. That's not exactly a long time no matter how much attention he got when he played in Utah. However, Jeff Hornacek getting his number retired with the Jazz could inadvertently show why Mitchell has a strong case.
Hornacek is held in high regard not just because he's considered one of the best mid-season acquisitions ever, but because he elevated the Jazz to an unquestioned contender in the 90s. He played a role in how Utah stayed as good as they were for as long as they were during the days of Karl Malone and John Stockton.
However, he was never a star in Utah, was definitively a lesser player than Mitchell, and played for the team for six and a half years—not much longer than Mitchell. Thus, longevity might not be a factor for the Jazz with Mitchell.
Then again, look again at Deron Williams. Williams played for the Jazz for longer, taking them to better heights than Mitchell. Even though Williams and the Jazz have buried the hatchet after his well-publicized fallout with the team, they still haven't retired his number almost eight years after his retirement.
Even when Mitchell's time with the team was inevitably coming to an end, he didn't make a big issue of it. Regardless of whether the Jazz decide to retire his number or not, Jazz fans would likely approve if they did.