Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers defended James Harden against criticism of his playoff record, arguing that every great player has experienced difficult moments during their career.

Mitchell acknowledged that Harden has had disappointing performances in important games but noted that similar struggles are often overlooked when discussing other all-time greats.

“Yeah, sure, has he had some rough moments? I’m sure we all have,” Mitchell said.

“LeBron [James] is one of the greatest players ever. We don’t really speak on the [Dallas] Mavericks [NBA] Final [in 2011] when he struggled [with the Miami Heat]. We don’t speak on [Michael] Jordan taking eight years to get to the Finals. We speak on the wins.”