Mikal Bridges Accuses Donovan Mitchell Of Pandering To Ohioans Ahead Of OSU-Notre Dame

The premier matchup during Week 1 of the college football season pits a pair of top-5 teams against one another in a non-conference showdown. In an era where big programs are increasingly playing one another on neutral sites, the No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish made their way to Columbus to battle the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes.

It should be an insane atmosphere, as College GameDay was on campus and both of these teams have aspirations of winning a national championship this season. One NBA player, in particular, is excited for the game, and no, it is not someone who went to either school or noted Buckeye football fan LeBron James. Instead, it’s Donovan Mitchell, who thinks the team that resides in his new home state is going to get the job done.

Mitchell was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this week, so picking the Buckeyes is a good way to endear himself to his new fans. This tweet caught the eye of another NBA player, Phoenix Suns wing Mikal Bridges, who is quietly establishing himself as one of the NBA’s best posters and decided to bust Mitchell’s chops for his prediction.

Listen, even if Bridges is right and this is straight up pandering by Mitchell, I can confidently say as a person who lives in Columbus that it will work. Anyway, the Buckeyes are 17-point favorites on Saturday night, so this is probably a smart pick.