Mike Mitchell, American basketball player (Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs), died from cancer he was , 55.

Michael Anthony Mitchell was an American professional basketball player in the NBA from 1978 to 1990 died from cancer he was , 55.

(January 1, 1956 – June 9, 2011)

Mitchell, who was born in Atlanta, played collegiately at Auburn University. He started his NBA career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but played most of his career for the San Antonio Spurs. Mitchell was a 6'7" and 215 lb. small forward with career averages of 19.8 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game, 1.3 assists per game, a .493 field goal percentage, and a .779 free throw percentage.
Mitchell was a one-time All-Star, in 1981, and was in the top ten in scoring four times and top ten in minutes played three times. Among other career highlights, he led the Spurs in scoring for the 1984-1985 season. This is significant because this was the only season in which George Gervin played on the Spurs and did not lead the team in scoring. Mitchell averaged 22.2 points per game to Gervin's 21.2 points per game.
Mitchell averaged 19.8 points per game over the course of his career.^[2] His 9799 total points for the San Antonio Spurs is 6th highest in franchise history, behind Gervin, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Tony Parker and James Silas.^[3]
From 1988 until a short return to the Spurs during the 1990 playoffs, Mitchell played in Italy for Basket Brescia. He went on to play in Italy, this time for Basket Napoli, before leaving for Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. in 1991. From 1992 until his retirement in 1999, Mitchell played for another Italian club, Pallacanestro Reggiana.

 

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