Where should Donovan Mitchell be drafted in 2026-27?

The No. 11 player on the 2026-27 projection, down from No. 10 in 2025-26. Yahoo drafters take him at 13.8 on average, 3 picks after his rank: a value at that price.

How many games will Donovan Mitchell play in 2026-27?

Our projection has him at 70 games, after 70 last season.

CLE

Donovan Mitchell

Cleveland Cavaliers · PG/SG · Age 30 · 6′2″ · 10th season

Rankings Cooper Flagg Karl-Anthony Towns

Rank#11PG #8 · of 233

Value0.5369-cat, per game

Yahoo ADP13.8ESPN 11.3

$ Max value$42Yahoo avg $46.2

Games7033 min a game

Rostered99.9%ESPN leagues

Fantasy outlook

The No. 11 player on the 2026-27 projection, down from No. 10 in 2025-26. He is top 10 in threes and points and top 25 in steals and free-throw percentage among rotation players; the cost is blocks at 0.3 a game, which makes him a natural punt-BLK pick. Yahoo drafters take him at 13.8 on average, 3 picks after his rank: a value at that price.

Stats over time

Steady: between 24.0 and 28.3 for 5 seasons, and top 50 among rotation players every season on our board.

Last season27.9

5-season average26.5

Trend a season−0.03

2026-27 proj.25.7

Very steady: lowest in 2024-25, highest in 2022-23.
Per 36 minutes: 27.6 in 2021-22, 30.0 last season, on 33.8 → 33.5 minutes: the change is his game, not his playing time.
The projection (25.7) is down on last season (27.9).

PTS rank among rotation players

23-24#25of 24724-25#25of 26625-26#9of 27226-27*#10of 213

Per game, from ESPN box scores. * Our 2026-27 projection, dashed.

Season by season

Season	Rank	Value	GP	MIN	PTS	3PM	REB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	FGM/FGA	FT%	FTM/FTA	TO
2026-27Proj.	11	0.536	70	33	25.7	3.2	4.5	4.9	1.5	0.3	46.5%	8.9/19.1	86.1%	4.7/5.5	2.3
2025-26	10	0.623	70	33	27.9	3.2	4.5	5.7	1.5	0.3	48.3%	9.7/20.0	86.5%	5.3/6.1	2.8
2024-25	31	0.438	71	31	24.0	3.3	4.5	5.0	1.3	0.2	44.3%	8.2/18.6	82.3%	4.2/5.1	2.1
2023-24	25	0.244	55	35	26.6	3.3	5.1	6.1	1.8	0.6	46.2%	9.2/19.8	86.5%	5.0/5.8	2.8
2022-23	-	-	68	36	28.3	3.6	4.3	4.4	1.5	0.4	48.5%	10.0/20.6	87.0%	4.7/5.4	2.6
2021-22	-	-	67	34	25.9	3.5	4.2	5.3	1.5	0.2	44.9%	9.2/20.5	85.1%	4.0/4.7	3.0

Rank, Value and colours start with 2023-24, the first season on our board; earlier seasons show ESPN's box scores.

Category profile · 2026-27

PTS

25.7#10 of 2131.05

3PM

3.2#9 of 2130.90

REB

4.5#76 of 213-0.22

AST

4.9#42 of 2130.24

STL

1.5#12 of 2130.66

BLK

0.3#147 of 213-0.53

FG%

46.5%8.9/19.1#133 of 213-0.24

FT%

86.1%4.7/5.5#24 of 2130.30

TO

2.3#170 of 213-0.26

Rank among rotation players (20+ minutes, 20+ games). Colour is the value in the category, as in Rankings.

Team role · Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers starter at SG, with Sam Merrill behind him. 183 minutes a night of the 2025-26 rotation left, most of it Darius Garland, De'Andre Hunter, and Keon Ellis; Peyton Watson is the arrival projected for the most minutes (31).

SG

1Donovan Mitchell
2Sam Merrill
3Tyrese Proctor
4Jaylon Tyson
5Craig Porter Jr.
6Meleek ThomasNew

Left since 2025-26

Darius Garland30 min → LAC
De'Andre Hunter26 min → SAC
Keon EllisSigned by BKN Jul 625 min → BKN
Max StrusAcquired by LAC Aug 2024 min → LAC
Dean WadeSigned by PHI Jul 622 min → PHI
Dennis SchroderAcquired by CHA Aug 2021 min → CHA
Lonzo Ball21 min
Larry Nance Jr.Signed by IND Jul 913 min → IND
Minutes a night183

Arrived

Peyton WatsonTraded by DEN Aug 2030 min from DEN
Meleek ThomasSigned Jul 1new
Mario HezonjaSigned Jul 31new
Khalifa DiopSigned Sep 2new
Ernest Udeh Jr.Signed Jul 1new

Depth chart from ESPN. Who left and arrived: last season's box scores against today's roster; how and when: ESPN's transaction feed, where it lists the move. Minutes are last season's, per game. Cleveland Cavaliers depth chart

Season	Team	GP	MIN	PTS	3PM	REB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	FGM/FGA	FT%	FTM/FTA	TO
2025-26	CLE	70	33.5	27.9	3.2	4.5	5.7	1.5	0.3	48.5%	9.7/20.0	86.9%	5.3/6.1	2.8
2024-25	CLE	71	31.4	24.0	3.3	4.5	5.0	1.3	0.2	44.1%	8.2/18.6	82.4%	4.2/5.1	2.1
2023-24	CLE	55	35.3	26.6	3.3	5.1	6.1	1.8	0.5	46.0%	9.1/19.8	86.2%	5.0/5.8	2.8
2022-23	CLE	68	35.8	28.3	3.6	4.3	4.4	1.5	0.4	48.5%	10.0/20.6	87.0%	4.7/5.4	2.6
2021-22	UTAH	67	33.8	25.9	3.5	4.2	5.3	1.5	0.2	44.9%	9.2/20.5	85.1%	4.0/4.7	3.0
2020-21	UTAH	53	33.4	26.4	3.4	4.4	5.2	1.0	0.3	43.7%	9.0/20.6	83.3%	5.0/6.0	2.8
2019-20	UTAH	69	34.3	24.0	2.5	4.4	4.3	1.0	0.2	44.8%	8.7/19.4	85.1%	4.0/4.7	2.7
2018-19	UTAH	77	33.7	23.8	2.4	4.1	4.2	1.4	0.4	43.2%	8.6/19.9	80.4%	4.1/5.1	2.8
2017-18	UTAH	79	33.4	20.5	2.4	3.7	3.7	1.5	0.3	43.6%	7.5/17.2	78.9%	3.0/3.8	2.7

Box-score averages from ESPN.