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"Spida" on what made him fall in love with Coco Jones: "The female version of Donovan Mitchell"
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- "Spida" on what made him fall in love with Coco Jones: "The female version of Donovan Mitchell"
It is common for athletes, NBA players in particular, to find motivation in all sorts of places where regular folks wouldn't even think to look. Sometimes it is as simple as coming from a teammate or their biggest rival on the court, even those who came into the league long before them. Other times, it can come from much more unusual places.
However, for Cleveland Cavaliers superstar Donovan Mitchell , one of his biggest sources of inspiration comes away from the basketball court.
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Spida recently opened up about his relationship with Grammy-winning singer Coco Jones, whom he married this summer. While the two respective professionals in their own fields may appear much different on the surface, Mitchell has realized they actually have much more in common than he initially thought, especially in their professional work.
"It's one of those feelings that, you know, we're motivated in our space, right? But when you watch someone try to perfect their craft, it develops a different hunger inside you," Mitchell explained. "Like, man, all right, you see it, you kind of want to compete."
Mitchell sees himself in Jones
To go back in time, Mitchell and Jones have mostly tried to keep their relationship away from the public eye since they first met at a networking event. Two years later, in July 2025 , they announced their engagement, and have since entered their newlywed era.
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But Mitchell has now given us a glimpse of what happens behind closed doors and how he has gotten an up-close look at just how much work goes into his wife's success. Coco, 28, has already won a Grammy and established herself as one of the recognizable names in R&B, and according to Donovan, none of that happened by accident.
Just like the Cavaliers guard thrives on the hardwood with the ball in his hands, Mitchell sees plenty of similarities in their obsession with their respective professions. Spida went as far as essentially describing his wife as the music industry's version of himself.
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"It's one of them things that made me fall in love with it because I watched the female version of Donovan Mitchell," he said. "Like, when I say that, I'm watching the perfectionist. I'm watching the details."
"I'm watching it can sound great to me. I'm like, 'All right, we good.' We in there for another three hours doing the same note."
Two very different worlds
That kind of dedication is something Mitchell can certainly relate to, and it definitely makes his life in the NBA that much easier. But no matter how many similarities they share and how relatable their respective journeys might be, Mitchell, who is now entering his fifth season in Cleveland, has gained a much better understanding of just how different their two worlds really are.
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In basketball, things are relatively straightforward. You put points on the board, and the statistics are there for everyone to see and draw their own conclusions. But in the world of music and artistry, it is a whole different story.
"I have a lot of respect for what she does as an artist because it's not easy," the 6'2" guard added. "For us, if you just hoop, you hoop. You score 10, you score 20. People like you, they don't like you. Like for her in her space, it's all about public perception and how they perceive your music."
Finding someone who shares that same passion and obsession with perfecting their craft is not easy, but it seems Mitchell found the one. And now, as the leader of the revamped Cavaliers squad, Spida will be looking for his own breakthrough in the Association, just like Coco found hers in the music industry.
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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Sep 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
