Mike Mitchell (basketball, born 1956)
Michael Anthony Mitchell (January 1, 1956 – June 9, 2011) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA), over eleven seasons, from 1978 to 1990.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 1, 1956 Atlanta, Georgia |
| Died | June 9, 2011 (aged 55) San Antonio, Texas |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Listed weight | 234 lb (106 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Luther Judson Price (Atlanta, Georgia) |
| College | Auburn (1974–1978) |
| NBA draft | 1978 / Round: 1 / Pick: 15th overall |
| Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers | |
| Playing career | 1978–1999 |
| Position | Small forward |
| Number | 30, 34 |
| Career history | |
| 1978–1981 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 1981–1987 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 1988–1990 | Filodoro Brescia |
| 1990 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 1990–1991 | Filodoro Napoli |
| 1991–1992 | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
| 1992–1999 | Reggio Emilia |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 15,016 (19.8 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 4,246 (5.6 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,010 (1.3 apg) |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
College career
Mitchell, who was born in Atlanta, played college basketball at Auburn University. While at Auburn, Mitchell was a four-time All-SEC selection and was named a second-team All-American in his 1977–78 season. He also became Auburn's all-time leader in scoring (2,123 points) and rebounding (996), after leaving for the NBA. He remains the all-time leading rebounder and is second in all-time scoring only to Chuck Person. Mitchell's number 30 jersey was retired on January 19, 2013, at the Auburn Arena.[1]
Professional career
Mitchell was drafted with the 15th pick in the first round, of the 1978 NBA Draft, by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He started his NBA career with the Cavaliers but played most of his career for the San Antonio Spurs. Mitchell was a 6'7" and 234 lb. small forward, with career averages of 19.8 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game, 1.3 assists per game, a .493 field goal percentage, and a .779 free throw percentage.
Mitchell was an All-Star in 1981 and was in the top ten in scoring four times, and the top ten in minutes played three times. Among other career highlights, he led the Spurs in scoring for the 1984–1985 season, which marked the only season in which George Gervin played on the Spurs, and did not lead the team in scoring. Mitchell averaged 22.2 points per game, to Gervin's 21.2 per game.
Mitchell averaged 19.8 points per game over the course of his NBA career.[2] His 9,799 total points scored for the San Antonio Spurs is seventh highest in franchise history, behind Gervin, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Tony Parker, James Silas, and Manu Ginóbili.[3]
From 1988, until a short return to the Spurs during the 1990 playoffs, Mitchell played in Italy, with Basket Brescia. He also played in Italy with Basket Napoli, before leaving for the Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv, in 1991. From 1992, until his retirement in 1999, Mitchell played for another Italian club, Pallacanestro Reggiana.
Post-playing career
Mitchell later worked as a counselor for at-risk youth, in San Antonio.
NBA career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978–79 | Cleveland | 80 | – | 19.7 | .513 | – | .736 | 4.1 | .8 | .6 | .4 | 10.7 |
| 1979–80 | Cleveland | 82 | – | 34.2 | .523 | .000 | .787 | 7.2 | 1.1 | .9 | .9 | 22.2 |
| 1980–81 | Cleveland | 82 | – | 39.0 | .476 | .444 | .784 | 6.1 | 1.7 | .8 | .6 | 24.5 |
| 1981–82 | Cleveland | 27 | 26 | 36.0 | .454 | .000 | .720 | 5.2 | 1.4 | 1.0 | .6 | 19.6 |
| 1981–82 | San Antonio | 57 | 57 | 36.7 | .539 | .000 | .733 | 7.9 | .8 | .6 | .5 | 21.0 |
| 1982–83 | San Antonio | 80 | 79 | 35.0 | .511 | .000 | .758 | 6.7 | 1.2 | .7 | .7 | 19.9 |
| 1983–84 | San Antonio | 79 | 79 | 36.1 | .488 | .429 | .779 | 7.2 | 1.2 | .8 | .9 | 23.3 |
| 1984–85 | San Antonio | 82 | 82 | 34.8 | .497 | .217 | .777 | 5.1 | 1.8 | .7 | .3 | 22.2 |
| 1985–86 | San Antonio | 82 | 82 | 36.2 | .473 | .000 | .809 | 5.0 | 2.3 | .7 | .3 | 23.4 |
| 1986–87 | San Antonio | 40 | 18 | 23.1 | .435 | .500 | .821 | 2.6 | 1.0 | .5 | .2 | 12.7 |
| 1987–88 | San Antonio | 68 | 20 | 22.1 | .482 | .250 | .825 | 2.9 | 1.0 | .5 | .2 | 13.5 |
| Career | 759 | 443 | 32.3 | .493 | .216 | .779 | 5.6 | 1.3 | .7 | .5 | 19.8 | |
| All-Star | 1 | 0 | 15.0 | .500 | – | 1.000 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | .0 | 14.0 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | San Antonio | 9 | – | 40.6 | .533 | – | .754 | 8.1 | .8 | .6 | .1 | 24.8 |
| 1983 | San Antonio | 11 | – | 38.4 | .510 | .500 | .758 | 9.5 | 1.1 | .6 | 1.7 | 20.9 |
| 1985 | San Antonio | 5 | 5 | 36.0 | .564 | .000 | .875 | 3.8 | 2.4 | .6 | .8 | 21.8 |
| 1986 | San Antonio | 3 | 3 | 35.7 | .404 | – | .500 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 15.7 |
| 1988 | San Antonio | 3 | 3 | 24.7 | .351 | – | .833 | 5.0 | 1.3 | .3 | .3 | 10.3 |
| 1990 | San Antonio | 4 | 0 | 3.8 | .375 | – | – | .8 | .5 | .0 | .0 | 1.5 |
| Career | 35 | 11 | 33.2 | .502 | .333 | .762 | 6.4 | 1.3 | .5 | .8 | 18.5 | |
References
- "Auburn retires Mike Mitchell's No. 30 jersey..." The Huntsville Times/AL.com. January 19, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
- NBA & ABA Career Leaders and Records for Points Per Game, basketball-reference.com
- San Antonio Spurs Career Leaders, basketball-reference.com
- "Former Spurs star Mitchell dies of cancer". Mysanantonio.com. June 9, 2011. Retrieved December 18, 2011.