Thunder's surprising draft maneuver fuels Ajay Mitchell's meteoric rise. A sophomore sensation, he's already a championship team's essential playmaker.
The Oklahoma City Thunder pulled off a rather unique feat on a snowy Monday afternoon. When the NBA announced their list of 2026 Rising Stars, Ajay Mitchell was selected for the Sophomores squad. It's not often the defending champions roster a first or second year player talented enough or with a big enough role to qualify for NBA All Star Weekend representation.
But Mitchell has been an exception to the rule going all the way back to the NBA Draft.
The UC Santa Barbara product was projected as a late 1st to mid 2nd round pick. Players taken in that range of the draft are typically either selected with little fanfare or a team makes a simple trade to acquire their guy. Not very often does a team trade into the 2nd round via a player and then trade that pick plus cash considerations to move up another 12 spots and then trade up once more another 2 spots to land the 38th pick in the draft. Yet that's exactly the step by step wheeling and dealing OKC orchestrated to pick Mitchell.
The 6'4" combo guard was an exception to the rule once again his rookie season. Mitchell shocked every Thunder fan and analyst by immediately earning a nightly spot in the rotation of a 57 win team that was the preseason NBA Finals favorite. It was even more surprising that the do-it-all scorer and playmaker had a real and tangible impact on winning for a team that eventually won 68 games and the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Unfortunately, his season was cut short due to a toe injury that required surgery and kept him out until the regular season was nearly complete.
That brings us to this season. Mitchell has once again become an exception by leapfrogging established core championship role players and proving to be one of OKC's most essential players as a sophomore. Look no further than the fact that the Thunder are 0-4 when Mitchell is out due to injury.
Mitchell is averaging 14.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.4 steals on 49/35/87 shooting splits. He is a top five betting favorite for Sixth Man of the Year. And he's on one of the best bang for your buck contracts in the league.
Ajay Mitchell is a Rising Star... on a team already boasting an MVP, an All-NBA Third Teamer, a Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner, an All-Defense First Teamer, a former All-Defense First Teamer and an NBA Championship banner.