LOS ANGELES — 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.
He’s usually in a hoodie, sweats, and sandals. He may be seated next to Evan Mobley or Sam Merrill — two of Cleveland’s usual starters. Or, he might be next to the team’s video coordinator. Or the sideline reporter for the local TV station that carries Cavs games. And maybe … the bus driver?
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 — is it a late morning breakfast, or an evening supper the night before a game? — there might be egg whites and rich breakfast smoothies on the tables, or if it’s later, fish, chicken, steak and vegetables.
If it’s the morning, there might be “SportsCenter” or a newscast on the TVs; at night, it’s NBA or college basketball, or both.
On every Cavs road trip, including the one they’re 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’s 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.
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’s 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.
Mitchell, and he’s not alone, insists the Cavs’ 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.
To sign, or not to sign, the maximum contract extension — which Mitchell eagerly put a pen to paper on when the time came in the summer of 2024.
The Cavs’ cookin’ had something to do with it.
“I talk about the basketball stuff, but part of it is why I re-signed here,” Mitchell told The Athletic. “When you have a team that, and it’s not BS food either, it’s like top of the top chefs making it in front of you, and it’s like gluten-free, dairy-free, all the right stuff … 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.
“That’s what stood out for me, like, it costs a lot, but this is an organization that’s willing to do that for its players. I talk to guys all over the league … and I don’t know of anyone else that does what we do.”
Dennis Schröder, the Cavs’ reserve point guard they traded for at the February deadline, is on his 11th NBA team in 12 seasons. He said some he’s played for have food programs similar to what the Cavs offer, but the team that traded him to Cleveland, the Sacramento Kings, did not.
“I think this is what you have to do if you want to play in the postseason, and you want to accomplish something big,” Schröder said. “I think you’ve got to do all the extras for the players, and that’s what Cleveland has been doing.”
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 “definitely up there in the sense of making sure players are covered in every aspect. That’s what makes them an amazing organization.”
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’ approach to how they feed their players on the road was “elite.”
“As part of our holistic approach, there is also a community approach,” Atkinson said. “I know some teams only invite the team to meals. We invite everybody. Social media, broadcasters, friends … we don’t really exclude anybody.”
Cleveland forward Max Strus celebrates a bucket. Several Cavs, including Strus, appreciate the lengths the team goes to support players. (Jason Miller / Getty Images)
The Cavs’ 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’t 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.
So, the Cavs hired a gourmet chef to cook in skillets at a station assembled in front of the Cavs’ locker room. Stir fry on demand.
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.
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 ‘I’m from Cleveland, too.’).
After losing to the Lakers on Tuesday, the Cavs bused to the airport and flew north to San Francisco — 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.
There is even more to the Cavs’ method. They — and any team that does something similar — 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.
Going out to dinner in an NBA city — especially for a player like Mitchell — 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.
“I speak for myself — if it was up to me, I wouldn’t go anywhere,” Mitchell said. “It’s like, hey, let’s all go downstairs and eat. It’s not like, all right, we got to go, we’ve got to order the Uber. It’s just so much easier. Like I said, it costs. Some teams don’t want to do that. But when you have a group that wants to do it, it makes the players feel comfortable. I think that’s what elevates this organization.”
The Cavs, of course, declined to disclose how much they spend on their road nutrition program. It’s a competitive trade secret. But, per the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the players’ association, all members of a team’s travel party get a per diem for road trips — roughly $120 per day. So, Cleveland is paying out those daily stipends in addition to its daily catered meals.
“We travel so much, I like to just stay in the hotel, make my life easy, go downstairs and go right back to my room,” said Cleveland veteran forward Max Strus. “I tend to be cheap. But the food is usually solid.”
Strus added, with a laugh, that Mitchell, who is playing on a three-year, $150 million contract, frequents the team’s hotel meals for the same reason.
“Don’s in there all the time,” Strus said. “Don’s also cheap.”
The setup itself is consistent from city to city, even if the menus change.
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.
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’s since sworn off during the season.
“You never know what each guy needs dietary restriction-wise,” said Larry Nance Jr., who’s played for five teams over 11 seasons. Nance, who is not shy about his battles with Crohn’s disease, must navigate substantial dietary restrictions.
“So, the more options, the more the ownership is willing to spend, the guys take and use really to keep themselves fit and firing,” he said.
The Cavs’ meal plan does not entirely cancel out the time-honored NBA tradition of team dinners out, or of players going to a restaurant on their own. For instance, in Salt Lake City, for the first part of Cleveland’s road trip, Mitchell took his fiancé, R&B singer and actress Coco Jones, out with his Salt Lake-based friends.
During the team’s previous road trip, which included a game in Chicago, near where Strus grew up, the Cavs took over an Italian restaurant after the game, where Strus knew the owner, for a full team dinner.
The appetizers alone — veal meatballs and calamari, to name two items — were enough to send patrons home full. And that includes the team bus driver.
“The bus driver was eating at the table,” Atkinson said. “This guy takes us to the restaurant, and it’s like, no, you’re not just sitting somewhere else.”
Atkinson said team dinners are his “favorite nights in the NBA.”
“You come off a tough loss or a tough win, everybody meets at the restaurant,” he said. “It’s not an obligation … but we get 98 percent participation.”
Most nights, those gatherings happen for the Cavs downstairs at the hotel.
“It brings a family atmosphere,” Strus said. “You can go down there and eat with not only players, but staff … people that are traveling with the team. We all know each other’s names. I think that speaks to our organization.”
Mitchell loves the vibe Strus described, but he also said the same team dining room can be a place of solitude for him.
“Everybody knows that sometimes I need my space, so I can go down there, grab a plate of food, sit by myself in the corner and FaceTime with my fiancé or watch a game on my phone,” he said. “So, it can be both, it can be a place to eat and hang out, or a place to eat and relax by yourself.”
Either way, the bill is already taken care of.