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Is Donovan Mitchell the Lady Gaga of the NBA?

<b>Television • </b>Utah Jazz phenom is the “Rookie on the Rise“ in a new Young Hollywood series.

(Rick Bowmer | The Associated Press) Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) lays the ball up as Sacramento Kings guard Frank Mason III, right, watches during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, March 17, 2018, in Salt Lake City.

These are good times for Donovan Mitchell. The Utah Jazz are hotter than they’ve been in years. He won the NBA dunk contest. He’s one of the frontrunners to win the league’s Rookie of the Year award.

And he’s about to be a star of Young Hollywood.

The website/streaming channel spent five days following the Jazz player around when he was in L.A. for the NBA’s All-Star weekend because he’s a “Rookie on the Rise.” And Mitchell is the focus of a new series – 15 segments, each 2-5 minutes in length – that starts streaming on YoungHollywood.com and Young Hollywood TV on Tuesday.

“The next-generation superstar has always been the core of the brand,” said R.J. Williams, the founder of Young Hollywood. “We’ve done it time and time again, from Lady Gaga to Selena Gomez.

“Even with Lady Gaga, when we did her she was in 500-person shows on the Sunset Strip and no one really knew who she was. And then, obviously, she became a huge, global phenomenon. We really see that in Donovan, too.”

Hmmmm … is Donovan Mitchell the Lady Gaga of the NBA?

If so, he’s doing it with considerably less glitz and glamour. The “Rookie on the Rise” segment opens with a charmingly awkward Mitchell opening the door to his hotel room and inviting the camera crew in. They’re there to film Mitchell getting a haircut.

“He was such a humble, down-to-earth guy,” Williams said. “For everything going on in his life, he was so unaffected by it. That was the biggest takeaway.”

The next couple of segments revolve around Mitchell, his mom and his sister. Because that’s who Mitchell hung out with at All-Star Weekend.

“He doesn’t have the big entourage,” Williams said. “He’s not going Hollywood, as you would expect with someone who’s such success right now. … He was just unusual in the sense that he really wasn’t fazed by any of it.”

Nah. Not even by having a camera crew follow him and his family around for a few days.

“It was awesome,” Mitchell said. “They were great people, first of all. I really liked the people I was working with.

“And for them to be able to capture moments like that are incredible. I’m just happy and honored that I could have that happen. It’s moments like that I’ll never forget. Us in the car, the house or the hotel – little things. … It will be really cool when it comes out.”

Williams is a big NBA fan, and he approached Mitchell well before the Jazz rookie became a media sensation.

“We really do our homework and our research before we get behind somebody,” Williams said. “And he’s just somebody we’re really passionate about.”

Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah Jazz's Donovan Mitchell poses for photos at The Grand America Hotel Wednesday, June 28, 2017.

Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah Jazz's Donovan Mitchell poses for photos at The Grand America Hotel Wednesday, June 28, 2017.

Which might be a good sign for Mitchell.

“We just like having that track record that we think has been pretty successful when we bet on somebody,” Williams said. “When we start doing that content early on, time and time again they’ve gone on to have a pretty strong career.”

There’s talk of continuing the series and sending a crew to Utah.

“Hopefully, the Jazz have a great playoff run, and there could be something there,” Williams said. “And the hope is that Donovan wins Rookie of the Year. We think he absolutely should.”

Working with Mitchell has already made converts in the Young Hollywood production offices – which is filled with people who know about actors and singers, but not so much about sports.

“None of them had any idea who Donovan was when we started,” Williams said, “and when they got to see him, everyone had that same takeaway. That he’s a great guy.”

Young Hollywood staffers who aren’t Jazz fans – who never even watched the NBA – are watching Jazz games and rooting for Mitchell now.

“And to us, that’s what defines a superstar — that you can transcend beyond your core audience,” Williams said.

Tribune sportswriter Kyle Goon contributed to this story.

Donovan Mitchell goes Young Hollywood • The first three Donovan Mitchell “Rookie on the Rise” segments will begin streaming Tuesday on YoungHollywood.com and Young Hollywood TV, which is available on Apple TV, Amazon Channels, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku, Facebook Watch, and Young Hollywood’s YouTube, Twitter and other social channels. Three new segments will premiere on each of the following four Tuesdays.