Davion Mitchell Is Flying to Greece to Train With Giannis Before They’ve Even Played Together

The Miami Heat haven’t even held training camp yet and Davion Mitchell is already booking a transatlantic flight to hang out with his new superstar teammate.

Mitchell, who started at point guard for most of last season, didn’t waste any time after the Heat pulled off the blockbuster trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo. He got his number, sent a text and within a few exchanges had essentially invited himself to Greece for summer workouts.

“Immediately after I found out, I got his number and I texted him,” Mitchell told reporters in Las Vegas during Summer League. “Obviously, during the summer, people will move around. So I’ll just go where he’s at because I’m already going to be over there anyway.”

It turns out Mitchell had his own European trip planned through the NBA Players Association. He’ll be in Spain in mid-July for a players’ performance retreat called “The Sanctuary.” That’s when he reached out to Giannis to see if they could make something work.

How the workout plan came together

Mitchell walked through the whole conversation. It went pretty smooth actually.

“I actually asked him, ‘Yo, what are you doing in the summer? I’m honestly trying to work with you and build some chemistry,’” Mitchell said. “He was like, ‘Do you ever go to Europe?’ And I was like, ‘actually, I’m coming to Europe.’ He said, ‘All right, well, what are you doing from these days?’ I told him and he said, ‘All right, then, you can pull up to Greece if you want.’ Immediately, I said, ‘I’m there.’”

So yeah. Mitchell is going. He said they’ll work out and that it’s going to be fun.

This is the kind of thing that doesn’t always happen when a superstar gets traded. Sometimes there’s an awkward adjustment period where everybody tiptoes around each other. Mitchell is taking the opposite approach. He’s going to the two-time MVP’s home country before they’ve played a single preseason game together.

Giannis now headlines a Miami roster that still has Bam Adebayo and a supporting cast that includes Mitchell, Tyler Herro and Jimmy Butler who’s entering another season with questions about his longterm future with the team. Nobody knows exactly how this thing fits yet. But Mitchell is clearly trying to make sure he’s not the one struggling to find a rhythm when the games start counting.

It’s a small gesture maybe. But flying to Greece in July to run drills with a guy you’ve never played with says something about how seriously this group is taking the opportunity.