In a wide-ranging interview, Donovan Mitchell admitted that racial tensions in Utah drained him while he played for the Utah Jazz. Mitchell said it changed the way he thought about things away from the court.

Asked if he feels more comfortable in Cleveland, where the population is more Black, Mitchell said there is more comfort there.

"It’s a little comforting for me, 100%. I’m not going to lie about that. It’s no secret there’s a lot of stuff that I dealt with being in Utah off the floor. If I’m being honest with you, I never really said this, but it was draining. It was just draining on my energy just because you can’t sit in your room and cheer for me and then do all these different things. I’m not saying specifically every fan, but I just feel like it was a lot of things. A (Utah) state senator (Stuart Adams) saying I need to get educated on my own Black history. Seeing Black kids getting bullied because of their skin color. Seeing a little girl (Isabella Tichenor) hang herself because she’s being bullied," Mitchell said.

"Man, it was just one thing after another," Mitchell added. "And I will say, it’s not the only place it happens. But for me, I’m continuing to be an advocate for (racial equality) and to receive the amount of pushback I got over the years, it was a lot."

Additionally, Mitchell explained that he and Rudy Gobert don't hate each other, but that things just didn't work basketball-wise. Mitchell also said his Cavaliers team has a chance to be "special".