The second-round sophomore outshined Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and LeBron James, delivering a flawless 24-point, 10-assist masterclass to push the Lakers to the brink of a series sweep.
The Oklahoma City Thunder blew out the Los Angeles Lakers by a final score of 131-108 in Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals at the Crypto.com Arena on Saturday night. And in a contest featuring the soon to be two time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a four time MVP in LeBron James, an All Star in Chet Holmgren as well as 23 point season scorer Austin Reaves, the best player on the floor was a small school second round sophomore.
Ajay Mitchell looked like a star in the making as he scored 24 points on 10-17 shooting including 2-4 from deep, grabbed 4 rebounds, dished out 10 assists, came away with 3 steals and somehow did it all without turning over the ball a single time.
“It may be a shock to the world, but this is no shock to us," said Gilgeous-Alexander to ABC sideline reporter Jorge Sedano in the postgame interview. "We knew who Ajay Mitchell was the day he stepped foot in our building, and he’s just showing it to the world.”
The 23 year old combo guard from UC Santa Barbara started this 2026 playoff run as a relative unknown outside of the state of Oklahoma. While he's had a handful of great games, Mitchell's masterful performance against the the league's most popular team has shot his social media mentions through the roof.
"I think the biggest thing for me was going out there and being confident," Mitchell said in his Game 3 postgame media availability. "I know what I can do and I think when I go out there, I just want to go out there and compete and help this team win. And play freely, have confidence. And I think obviously my teammates give me confidence and the coaching staff. It's been amazing to see that."
The scary thing for 29 other fanbases is that Mitchell is just scratching the surface of the player that he can ultimately become one day. He's played about as many career NBA minutes as the league's top rookies this season.
"Yeah, I think when a player is as inexperienced as he is, not only in the postseason, I mean he's had two seasons where he's had long stretches where he's missed time," said Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault of Mitchell's growth. "So he doesn't have a ton of basketball in the NBA. The growth curve for young players in the NBA is steep. He's a guy that he's hungry, he's also humble so he grows from all his experiences."
The Thunder beat the Lakers by 23 points to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their Round 2 series. And an international audience learned the name Ajay Mitchell.