ESPN NBA rank: 5 youngsters who can improve their rankings this season

#5 Donovan Mitchell

Oklahoma City Thunder v Utah Jazz - Game Six

As a rookie, Donovan Mitchell did what few rookies in the history of the league have ever done - outplay two perennial All-NBA candidates en route knocking them out of the first round of the playoffs.

Not only was he a more decisive influence on his team than Westbrook and Paul George were for their the Thunder, Mitchell actually took on the burden of being the volume scorer for his team when being guarded by PG-13. And delivered on it in such big-time fashion that nearly everyone who watched fell in love with his demeanor, his controlled aggression and the scintillating moves he put on hapless defenders left, right and center.

As far as shooting guards in the league go, I'm not sure that other than James Harden and Jimmy Butler anyone could've done what he did, or represents the same upside as he does. Through the course of his rookie season, anyone who watched the Jazz closely could clearly see how much he improved steadily with experience.

With an offseason gone by and the Jazz having brought back nearly all of their crew who finished an eminently respectable 48-34 last season, expect Mitchell to keep trending up and reach All-NBA consideration in a couple of years. A buck gets ten that it might be this year itself (even if he doesn't actually get voted in).