D.J. Mitchell

Donovan James Mitchell (born 12 March 1997) is an American-Australian professional basketball player for El Calor de Cancún of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP). Born in Australia, he grew up in the United States and holds an Irish passport. He played college basketball for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and Santa Clara Broncos before playing professionally in the Netherlands, Australia, Poland and England.

In 2026, Mitchell joined the Australia men's national 3x3 team.

Early life Mitchell was born in Melbourne, Victoria, to American parents. His parents met in Australia during the 1990s.

Mitchell grew up in Fresno, California, and attended Buchanan High School in nearby Clovis, where he was a three-time first-team all-conference honouree with the basketball team. He was an all-state volleyball player at Buchanan.

On 30 April 2018, Mitchell transferred to Santa Clara. He subsequently sat out the 2018–19 season due to NCAA transfer regulations.

As a redshirt junior in 2019–20, Mitchell played in all 33 games for the Broncos with 15 starts. He ranked third on the team in scoring (10.7 ppg) on 49.4 percent field goal shooting and was second on the team in both 3-point shooting (38.3 percent) and rebounding (5.2 pg).

As a senior in 2020–21, Mitchell played in 18 games for the Broncos, starting five and averaging 6.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. to instead begin his professional career in Ireland playing for Templeogue in the Super League while undertaking a master's degree at Griffith College. However, he left the team prior to making his debut after being lured to the Netherlands.

On 15 October 2021, Mitchell signed with Dutch team BAL of the BNXT League. In 22 games during the 2021–22 season, he averaged 16.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

In June 2022, Mitchell moved to Australia and joined the Gold Coast Rollers of the NBL1 North for the rest of the 2022 season. He helped the Rollers win the NBL1 North championship. In 14 games, he averaged 18.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.8 blocks per game. After the Bullets opened the season 0–4, Mitchell was suspended for one game after being dismissed from training following a disagreement with coach James Duncan about his role in the team's offence. On 19 November 2022, he scored 21 points in a 90–82 loss to the Cairns Taipans. For the season, he averaged 9.56 points, 4.56 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

Following the NBL season, Mitchell joined Śląsk Wrocław of the Polish Basketball League for the rest of the 2022–23 PLK season. He helped the team reach the championship series, where they lost 3–2. He averaged 5.8 points in 22 games. He averaged five points in 15 games.

In April 2024, Mitchell joined the Ipswich Force for the 2024 NBL1 North season. In 16 games, he averaged 21.44 points, 6.38 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.13 steals per game.

On 25 September 2024, Mitchell signed with Manchester Basketball of the Super League Basketball for the 2024–25 season. In 33 games, he averaged 14.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

On 15 May 2025, Mitchell signed a two-year deal with the South East Melbourne Phoenix. In 30 games during the 2025–26 NBL season, he averaged 4.3 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. The second year of his two-year deal was not exercised by the Phoenix following the season.

On 3 April 2026, Mitchell signed with Manchester Basketball just prior to the playoffs of the 2025–26 Super League Basketball season.

In July 2026, Mitchell joined El Calor de Cancún of the Mexican Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP).

National team

Personal life Mitchell is the son of Americans Mike Mitchell and Michelle Maher. His father played professional basketball in Australia and Europe while his mother played professional beach volleyball.

In 2022, Mitchell played for two of the same teams his father also played for in the NBL, the Gold Coast Rollers and Brisbane Bullets.