Mike Mitchell (basketball, born 1956)
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 1, 1956 Filodoro Brescia |
| 1990 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 1990–1991 | Filodoro Napoli |
| 1991–1992 | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
| 1992–1999 | Reggiana |
| 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 NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
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.
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. He was known for his mid-range jumpshot and ability to play well under pressure in the postseason.[2]
Mitchell was an
1983 NBA Playoffs, Mitchell and the Spurs reached the Western Conference Finals, where Mitchell led the Spurs in scoring with 25.7 points a game, while adding 10.3 rebounds a game, as the Spurs were eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.[3] 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 over an entire year. 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.
From 1988, until a short return to the Spurs during the
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.
Death
Mitchell died of cancer in 2011.[6]
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.
- ^ "Former Spurs star Mitchell dies of cancer". Mysanantonio.com. June 9, 2011. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
- ^ 1983 NBA Western Conference Finals
- ^ 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.