Donovan Mitchell recently lost his grandmother, and he took to social media to pen a heartfelt letter to share his grief and also call attention to her spirit and strength. "I know your [sic] in a better place grandma... I’m in shock," he wrote on his Instagram. "You were such a fighter! Without you this family isn’t here! There is no Donovan Mitchell without you! I don’t get here if it wasnt for you! The man I am today the mother I have today and the sister I have today was your legacy... started with you coming from Panama!!"
Although the Utah Jazz lost in the playoffs to the Denver Nuggets, Mitchell is thankful his grandmother was alive long enough to watch him score a career-best 57 points. "The last game you were able to see was me scoring 57.... who would’ve thought! That was all you pulling me along... you stayed strong to watch me through it! I love you grandma I will forever miss you!"
Mitchell's closeness to his grandmother was well documented, and his mother Nicole explained in a Players Tribune article that the two had a very special relationship. "Whenever we used to go over to his grandma's house for dinner, we'd clear off the coffee table and he'd hop up there and dance to her old records," she stated. "That was our ritual. We'd have a nice little dance party."