{
  "id": 12961529,
  "title": "Donovan Mitchell Blasts ‘BS’ Narratives Surrounding James Harden Ahead of Year 18",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/donovan-mitchell-blasts-bs-narratives-surrounding-james-harden-ahead",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-08T21:43:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/donovan-mitchell-blasts-bs-narratives-214318025.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell has refuted the \"BS narratives\" surrounding his teammate and co-star, James Harden, ahead of his 18th NBA season. Mitchell, who believes Harden should be considered among the league's greatest players, pointed out that his absence from discussions alongside LeBron James and Kevin Durant stems from the latter's lack of championship wins and playoff failures. Despite these shortcomings, Mitchell praised Harden's influence, passion, and intention, emphasizing that this should dispel the unfavorable narratives. Despite being a high-experience player, Harden demonstrated his lasting impact during the 2026 playoffs by averaging 20.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.7 assists in 26 games for the Cavaliers. The dynamic duo of Mitchell and Harden led the team to its first Eastern Conference finals appearance since 2018, though they were ultimately swept by the New York Knicks. Mitchell, who signed a four-year, $273 million contract extension with the Cavaliers, remains committed to the franchise and believes they have the potential to contend for the NBA title this season.",
  "summary": "Donovan Mitchell believes his co-star, James Harden, should be considered one of the great NBA players of all time. However, Harden is not brought up as much as Mitchell wants him to be. The Cleveland Cavaliers star will enter his 18th year in the NBA and is not included in certain conversations. Mitchell believes Harden [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}