The sole reason the Cleveland Cavaliers underwent a drug test was due to Donovan Mitchell
The NBA had to conduct a drug test on the Cleveland Cavaliers following Donovan Mitchell’s spectacular 71-point performance against the Chicago Bulls on Monday night.
Cleveland Cavaliers team goes through drug test after Donovan Mitchell 70 point game
This isn’t being dramatic at all.
The Cavaliers defeated the rival Chicago Bulls 145-134 thanks to Mitchell’s 71-point outing. After the game, the NBA tested Cavaliers players for PED use, according to Jamal Collier of ESPN: “Tuesday afternoon, the Cleveland Cavaliers received tests for performance-enhancing substances, the franchise acknowledged to ESPN, a day after an All-record-breaking Star’s 71-point outburst.”
The collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association states that players are normally required to submit to two PED tests during the offseason and four during the regular season.
Donovan Mitchell confirms the news with his tweet.
Earlier that day, Mitchell replied to a tweet from Robin Lopez on the team and mentioned that they had undergone a drug test. However, Mitchell should consider it a compliment. That is one way the NBA can convey how stunned and speechless they were by his career-defining performance.
Andddd just like that we are drug tested this morning ๐๐๐ https://t.co/LvlbcPDucP
— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) January 3, 2023
Mitchell joined the elite company of Wilt Chamberlain, who holds the single-game record with 100 points, Kobe Bryant, David Thompson, David Robinson, Elgin Baylor, and Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns as the sixth player to ever score at least 70 points in a game.
The Cavaliers are unstoppable this season.
The Cavaliers had their first successful season without LeBron James since 1997โ98 last year. Koby Altman, the general manager, decided to finalise a deal for the former Utah Jazz All-Star because he saw the offseason as a time to go all-in.
So, it goes without saying that the trade has been extremely profitable during the first two and a half months of the season. With a “big three” of Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Darius Garland, the Cavaliers are now fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 24-14 record.
Mitchell is the ideal addition to the Cavaliers. His averages for each game are 29.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.4 steals. Cleveland appears to be in a strong position to secure a top-four seed in the East, which would give them home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs despite losing both of their play-in games last year.