An NBA championship in his first season won’t slow Ajay Mitchell. The 23-year-old made the most of his short three-month offseason as he hopes to pencil himself into the rotation. The Oklahoma City Thunder hope he can do that as he’d fix one of their few roster holes.
The Thunder had one of the greatest seasons ever. A historic 68-14 record and the Larry O’Brien trophy cemented them among the all-time teams. That said, there is no such thing as a perfect roster. A tumultuous playoff journey saw a pair of Game 7s because of an inconsistent offense.
The Thunder survived most of the regular season without a traditional backup point guard, but the offense got ugly real fast when anybody besides Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams was asked to be the primary ball-handler.
Mitchell seems like the perfect answer to those bench lineup woes. He was off to a hot start last season. To the point that Isaiah Hartenstein campaigned for him to be in the Rookie of the Year conversation. The stats might not have been gaudy, but he helped out a title contender as a two-way rookie.
Alas, toe surgery cost him three months of the regular season. By the time he returned, the playoffs were around the corner. He was on the outside of the rotation. It was a tough reality to settle in, but he made the most of the situation. Now, he’ll have the chance to cement himself as a rotation staple.
At the 2025-26 Media Day, Mitchell reflected on his offseason. He was a 2025 Summer League standout. He looked like a polished go-to scorer who could drive to the basket. If he can translate that over to the regular season, that gives the Thunder another scoring punch.
Now, what about the rest of his game? Where did Mitchell think he improved the most once the celebration was over and had the remainder of the offseason to quietly make strides?
“I think just my IQ, learning the NBA, learning the game on the sideline,” Mitchell said. “And then just my body getting stronger and then getting into league shape.”
The latter is important to point out. NBA rookies typically don’t get the luxury to prepare their frame for the grueling lifestyle of the regular season. Playing every other day and learning on the job gives little time to transform their body to better withstand the workload.
But through one day in training camp, Mark Daigneault has already noticed a difference. He pointed out that Mitchell physically looks different. He doesn’t think he added a ton of weight, per se. Just transferred over a lot of it to muscle. A smart approach to take if you’re going to be a drive-heavy scorer who bumps his defenders off him.
“As a rookie being able to play in the Finals was really huge for me. I think it’s a whole other level. And for me it was a great learning experience,” Mitchell said. “And I think now it kind of made me want to have more of that. So all I’m focused on is keeping my head down, working hard and helping this team win and do what we have to do to get back there.”