The Cavaliers’ season just ended in a puff of playoff smoke, and Donovan Mitchell is already out here dropping F-bombs like he’s starring in a Quentin Tarantino movie. After Cleveland’s Game 5 loss to the Indiana Pacers — a soul-punching 114-105 defeat on their own floor — Mitchell pulled up to the postgame mic and said what every Cavs fan was feeling:

“Y’all gonna write us the f*** off man. But we’ll be back.”

Whew. My guy didn’t even warm up before throwing that one down. He delivered it straight-faced, raw, and live on mic. And now, he’s staring down the barrel of an NBA fine faster than you can say “language violation.”

Look, the NBA doesn’t mess around when it comes to profanity in public interviews, especially when they’re broadcast live. Rudy Gobert once dropped a spicy quote after a playoff win and got slapped with a $25,000 fine. Anthony Edwards? He cursed a little too freely in a couple of postgame pressers and ended up owing $125,000 to the league across two separate fines in December 2024. That’s not swearing — that’s swearing with compound interest.

So yeah, Donovan Mitchell is absolutely in the danger zone. While no fine has been announced yet, history says he’s likely looking at a bill in the range of $25,000. I mean, that’s pocket change for someone averaging $30 million a year, but still — that’s like 5500 Popeye’s chicken sandwiches, or 4,212,000 V-Bucks if he’s feeling Fortnite-y.

Mitchell tried. Like, REALLY tried. The man was out there on a semi-functioning ankle (sprained in Game 4), dropping 35 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, and a block. He even nailed four threes. He was doing everything short of selling popcorn in section 112. But when you shoot 8-for-25 from the field and 4-for-13 from deep, it’s like showing up to a water balloon fight with a leaky bucket — you’re trying, but it’s messy.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Cavaliers were collectively ghosting. Cleveland couldn’t win a home game if you handed them cheat codes and unplugged the other team’s controller. They got swept at home. All three games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse? L’s. That’s not a fortress — that’s an open house. Even Tyrese Haliburton had time to wave them goodbye like a villain in a Disney Channel Original Movie.

The Cavs’ Season: From Dream to Meme

Let’s not forget, the Cavaliers finished the regular season as the #1 seed in the East. They won 64 games. They had a better record than the Celtics, the Bucks, even the Knicks. There were parades being prepped, banners being imagined, and Mitchell jerseys flying off the shelves like iPhones on launch day.

And then… poof. Gone in the second round. Again. For the third straight year, Cleveland crashed out of the playoffs before making it to the conference finals. That’s not a trend — that’s a tradition. Mitchell’s been there for all three exits. That’s starting to feel like the basketball version of “Groundhog Day.”

Naturally, the NBA takes were boiling after the loss. Enter Kendrick Perkins, who pulled out the flamethrower and torched the Cavs on social media: “A Donovan Mitchell-led team has never been to a Conference Finals. I don’t care how you slice it, but this season for the Cavs is a complete failure.”

Yikes. That’s the verbal equivalent of throwing salt into a paper cut. And while Mitchell didn’t respond to Perk directly, he definitely heard the noise. His “we’ll be back” energy? That was aimed at every doubter, every critic, and every talk show that’s going to ask “Should Cleveland blow it up?” this week.

For all the heat he’s catching, let’s be clear: Donovan Mitchell is that dude. The six-time All-Star averaged 24 points, 4.5 boards, and 5 assists this season while shooting a clean 44.3% from the field and 36.8% from three.

He’s a walking bucket with elite defense and clutch instincts.” I think the biggest thing is I’ve been doing this for eight years. I’ve been in the same round for eight years. These things aren’t easy. Just when you think you’ve gotten somewhere, there’s another level. You know what I’m saying? I think, to Danny’s point, to Danny’s question, we took a step. We didn’t take two. We took one.” Donovan Said ” And getting beat down like this, and y’all are going to write some shit about us, man. And that’s going to be fuel. Like, you know, fuel for everybody. Y’all are going to say a lot of shit. Y’all are. And that’s what it takes. I’ve been here. So, I understand, we understand, and now we just got to use it as fuel for next year. I think this team lost a little rhythm.“

More importantly, he gets it. Postgame, Mitchell said: “We let the city down. We let each other down. There’s gonna be a lot of talk now. That’s what comes with it. So what are we gonna do about it next year?”

Bro’s already thinking about 2026. That’s the kind of attitude Cavs fans want to hear. And even if the league snatches $25K out of his wallet for that one rogue F-bomb, fans probably don’t care. He spoke like someone who feels the loss, not someone who’s hiding behind clichés and blaming teammates.

Donovan Mitchell didn’t just lose a playoff series — he gained a vendetta. Whether or not the NBA decides to fine him (spoiler alert: they probably will), his message was clear.

This wasn’t a polite “we’ll bounce back.” This was a gritted-teeth, slam-the-door, play-the-Rocky-theme kind of “we’ll be back.” And if the Cavs do come back stronger? That $25K will go down as the best-spent swear in NBA history.