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<\/p>\nLOS ANGELES \u2014 In a grand hotel ballroom, with the high ceilings and fancy carpet, in almost any city outside of Cleveland that has an NBA team, when the Cavaliers are visiting, you will probably find star Donovan Mitchell there, two or three times a day.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s usually in a hoodie, sweats, and sandals. He may be seated next to Evan Mobley or Sam Merrill \u2014 two of Cleveland\u2019s usual starters. Or, he might be next to the team\u2019s video coordinator. Or the sideline reporter for the local TV station that carries Cavs games. And maybe \u2026 the bus driver?<\/p>\n
They all would be seated around a table with a white cloth, plates of food in front of them and TVs stationed in the corner. Depending on the time of day \u2014 is it a late morning breakfast, or an evening supper the night before a game? \u2014 there might be egg whites and rich breakfast smoothies on the tables, or if it\u2019s later, fish, chicken, steak and vegetables.<\/p>\n
If it\u2019s the morning, there might be \u201cSportsCenter\u201d or a newscast on the TVs; at night, it\u2019s NBA or college basketball, or both.<\/p>\n
On every Cavs road trip, including the one they\u2019re on now, the Cavaliers pay for the top chefs at the five-star hotels at which they stay to cater at least two meals for their entire traveling party, and not just the players, either. The coaches are invited, of course. But so is the support staff, like trainers and video coordinators. But the invite is also extended to the team\u2019s radio and TV broadcast teams. Oh, and, naturally, if a player or coach has family on the road, or even friends. They can come to the hotel to eat, too.<\/p>\n
Cleveland is not the only team in the league to cater multiple meals each day for its team, but the Cavs might be the only organization that opens those meals up to so many people beyond the players. There\u2019s a story not only of constant, delectable food, at all hours of the day, but also of a team that spares no expense to take care of its members.<\/p>\n
Mitchell, and he\u2019s not alone, insists the Cavs\u2019 food itinerary on the road is unique compared to the rest of the league. Whether that is true, what Mitchell witnessed the Cavs do for him and his teammates during his first two seasons with the team had a profound impact on the most important decision he or any star of his caliber can make in the summer.<\/p>\n
To sign, or not to sign, the maximum contract extension \u2014 which Mitchell eagerly put a pen to paper on when the time came in the summer of 2024.<\/p>\n
The Cavs\u2019 cookin\u2019 had something to do with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI talk about the basketball stuff, but part of it is why I re-signed here,\u201d Mitchell told The Athletic. \u201cWhen you have a team that, and it\u2019s not BS food either, it\u2019s like top of the top chefs making it in front of you, and it\u2019s like gluten-free, dairy-free, all the right stuff \u2026 when you have a team that believes in nutrition as much as they believe in medical, and what you do on the floor, I think it shows the mindset of an organization.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what stood out for me, like, it costs a lot, but this is an organization that\u2019s willing to do that for its players. I talk to guys all over the league \u2026 and I don\u2019t know of anyone else that does what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dennis Schr\u00f6der, the Cavs\u2019 reserve point guard they traded for at the February deadline, is on his 11th NBA team in 12 seasons. He said some he\u2019s played for have food programs similar to what the Cavs offer, but the team that traded him to Cleveland, the Sacramento Kings, did not.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this is what you have to do if you want to play in the postseason, and you want to accomplish something big,\u201d Schr\u00f6der said. \u201cI think you\u2019ve got to do all the extras for the players, and that\u2019s what Cleveland has been doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
James Harden, another trade-deadline acquisition by Cleveland who has also seen a thing or two in the NBA over his 17 seasons with six different franchises, said the Cavs were \u201cdefinitely up there in the sense of making sure players are covered in every aspect. That\u2019s what makes them an amazing organization.\u201d<\/p>\n
And coach Kenny Atkinson, who has steered Cleveland and the Brooklyn Nets as a head coach, and served as an assistant for the Knicks, Hawks, Clippers and Warriors, said the Cavs\u2019 approach to how they feed their players on the road was \u201celite.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs part of our holistic approach, there is also a community approach,\u201d Atkinson said. \u201cI know some teams only invite the team to meals. We invite everybody. Social media, broadcasters, friends \u2026 we don\u2019t really exclude anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n Cleveland forward Max Strus celebrates a bucket. Several Cavs, including Strus, appreciate the lengths the team goes to support players. (Jason Miller \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Cavs\u2019 meals program is about nutrition, yes. But also about comfort, convenience, and consistency. For instance, Cleveland is on a three-game road trip over four nights that concludes tonight in San Francisco against the Golden State Warriors. The first game of the trip, against Utah on Monday, preceded a game on Tuesday in Los Angeles, which meant the Cavs couldn\u2019t feed their players a proper dinner after the win over the Jazz. There was a league-mandated flight to catch to get to L.A.<\/p>\n
So, the Cavs hired a gourmet chef to cook in skillets at a station assembled in front of the Cavs\u2019 locker room. Stir fry on demand.<\/p>\n
The Cavaliers typically provide two meals a day on the road, sometimes three depending on the schedule, all of it set up in the same hotel where the team is staying.<\/p>\n
After beating the Jazz and flying to Los Angeles, the Cavs awoke Tuesday morning at the Ritz-Carlton with breakfast waiting for them. (As an aside, in what has to be a rarity in pro sports, the Cavs and Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball were both staying at the Ritz. The Guardians were in town to play the Dodgers, and the teams crossed paths on the elevators and in the lobbies around midday Tuesday. Guardians rookie Chase DeLauter was said to be introducing himself to the guys in Cleveland Cavs shirts, saying \u2018I\u2019m from Cleveland, too.\u2019).<\/p>\n
After losing to the Lakers on Tuesday, the Cavs bused to the airport and flew north to San Francisco \u2014 where they went directly to the team hotel in Palo Alto. When they awoke, groggy after two late nights in a row, the ballroom was alive with the aroma of a fresh breakfast waiting for them.<\/p>\n
There is even more to the Cavs\u2019 method. They \u2014 and any team that does something similar \u2014 are tapping into the generational change as younger players take over the NBA. The new kids are not as interested in late, wine-soaked meals in the back rooms of the fanciest restaurants as the stars of the past.<\/p>\n
Going out to dinner in an NBA city \u2014 especially for a player like Mitchell \u2014 is rarely simple. There are reservations to make, private spaces to book, security to coordinate. Even something as routine as a meal can become a process.<\/p>\n
\u201cI speak for myself \u2014 if it was up to me, I wouldn\u2019t go anywhere,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cIt\u2019s like, hey, let\u2019s all go downstairs and eat. It\u2019s not like, all right, we got to go, we\u2019ve got to order the Uber. It\u2019s just so much easier. Like I said, it costs. Some teams don\u2019t want to do that. But when you have a group that wants to do it, it makes the players feel comfortable. I think that\u2019s what elevates this organization.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cavs, of course, declined to disclose how much they spend on their road nutrition program. It\u2019s a competitive trade secret. But, per the league\u2019s collective bargaining agreement with the players\u2019 association, all members of a team\u2019s travel party get a per diem for road trips \u2014 roughly $120 per day. So, Cleveland is paying out those daily stipends in addition to its daily catered meals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe travel so much, I like to just stay in the hotel, make my life easy, go downstairs and go right back to my room,\u201d said Cleveland veteran forward Max Strus. \u201cI tend to be cheap. But the food is usually solid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Strus added, with a laugh, that Mitchell, who is playing on a three-year, $150 million contract, frequents the team\u2019s hotel meals for the same reason.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019s in there all the time,\u201d Strus said. \u201cDon\u2019s also cheap.\u201d<\/p>\n
The setup itself is consistent from city to city, even if the menus change.<\/p>\n
On any given night, that might mean a carved meat station, made-to-order pasta, or multiple hot options lined up alongside lighter fare. There may be wine on the table with dinner, and you can bet on an ice cream serving station.<\/p>\n
Breakfasts can include smoothies and egg-white options. A team nutritionist plans the general offerings, but, as the players said, chefs will take orders and prepare individual meals, too. Mitchell used to ask for French fries, which he\u2019s since sworn off during the season.<\/p>\n