NBA Star Donovan Mitchell Inaugurates New Athletic Center At Greenwich School
GREENWICH, CT — NBA all-star and Greenwich Country Day School alumnus Donovan Mitchell (class of 2012) helped inaugurate the new athletic center named after him on campus last week.
The new state-of-the-art gymnasium was packed with friends, family, and some of Mitchell's Cleveland Cavaliers teammates on Sunday, Oct. 27 for a ceremony to usher in the new facility.
The Donovan Mitchell Family Athletic Center houses a full-sized NCAA basketball court that can be divided in half to create two high school-sized courts. The DON, which stands for Determination Over Negativity, will be fully open to the school community in mid-November, according to a news release from the school.
Mitchell, who was drafted by the Denver Nuggets 13th overall in 2017 and traded to the Utah Jazz is currently in his eighth year in the NBA and his third-year in Cleveland. Mitchell is a five-time all-star.
"I am forever grateful to everyone, especially my teachers, coaches, and family who helped me get to where I am," said Mitchell, who took the first shot on the court, according to a news release. "From day one, before basketball was the plan, everyone in this community was always checking up on me. They told me what I needed to hear, not what I wanted to hear, and helped me to continually improve. They did it for no reason other than they cared about me."
To begin the ceremony, GCDS Head of School Adam Rohdie and Director of Athletics Tim Helstein unveiled Mitchell's retired GCDS number 45 jersey, which will hang permanently in The DON.
"Donovan leaves his mark on GCDS not because he was a terrific athlete, though of course he was in multiple sports," said Rohdie in a news release. "He leaves his mark because he is a terrific human being."
The DON will host not just sports, but all-school events and assemblies, the school said.
"The DON will become the Grand Central Station of GCDS," Rohdie added. "This is a transformational gift, not only for our athletics program but for the entire school and I can't thank the Mitchell family enough for their generosity."
Mitchell's mother, Nicole, was a Pre-K teacher at the school for 13 years and currently sits on the school's board of trustees, and his sister, Jordan, class of 2017, is an alumna, according to the school.
"The GCDS community was a role model for us. Many people here do good just because it's the right thing to do," said Nicole Mitchell in a news release.
In December 2020 , Mitchell donated $12 million to help the school provide need-based aid to students and to construct the gymnasium.
Rohdie told the audience that in addition to the building of The DON, Mitchell and his family's philanthropy supports increased access to education through GCDS student scholarships and professional development through the Faculty Support Fund.
The inauguration ceremony also featured Brianna McDermott, captain of the GCDS girls basketball team, and the first person to have her name on the banner of 1,000-point scorers that hangs in the gym.
