In April 2020, Donovan Mitchell huddled alone inside his suburban Connecticut home. The pandemic was rippling through the U.S., shutting down everything from office buildings to the SoulCycle that hosted Mitchell’s favorite spinning class.
His team, the Jazz, was at the epicenter of it all.
A month earlier the NBA season had come to an abrupt halt. All-Star center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19, days after mockingly touching every microphone he could during a press conference. Mitchell tested positive as well, and reports that he was frustrated with Gobert had placed their relationship under intense scrutiny.