By any and all accounts, the 2024 NBA Draft was not very good. Therefore, if there was to be a Sophomore Of The Year award instigated for the 2025-26 season, its winner might prove to be someone who came close to not being drafted at all.
Ajay Mitchell, a 6’6 wing for the Oklahoma City Thunder, fell to the 38th overall pick that season as a junior out of UC Santa Barbara. And yet despite that lowly billing, the Belgian international could well be on track to become the NBAâs standout sophomore this coming season. For all the first round draft picks that the Thunder have stored in their historic pick cache, it might be the case that a lowly second-rounder could be their next breakout young player.
Thunder’s Next Draft Heist
Drafted by the New York Knicks and traded immediately to the Thunder in exchange for the draft rights to Oso Ighodaro and cash, Mitchell played in 36 regular-season games as a rookie. He would have played in a lot more were it not for a three-month injury lay-off, as he landed in Oklahoma City ready to go from day one.
In his rookie campaign, Mitchellâs efficiency stood out. He averaged 6.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 16.6 minutes per game, shooting an efficient 49.5 % from the floor, and hitting 38.3 % from three-point range. That kind of shooting is noteworthy for a second-round pick, and was the most important thing he could bring in what compared to his college days was a new, limited role – having averaged 20.0 points per game in his final collegiate season, Mitchell needed to prove he could thrive as an 0ff-ball shooter. And this, he did.
The Thunder showed faith in Mitchellâs long-term potential when they converted his two-way deal into a full standard contract, amid his injury lay-off, and this summer re-signed him to a new multi-year deal. It followed logically that they expect him to grow into a meaningful rotational piece, and to perhaps expand on his role. Yet in the Thunder’s first three games of the 2025-26 season, Mitchell has blown away those expectations. Sample size notwithstanding, he has been a star sixth man.
Mitchell’s Expanding Role
Mitchell is positioned as a key third-guard option behind the premium backcourt of reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort and Cason Wallace, bringing reliable spacing, shooting and decision-making across multiple positions. He is taking on greater responsibility, handling more minutes, encouraged to attack any defenders in space and raise up when open, and be aggressive within a Thunder offence that emphasizes ball movement, perimeter shooting and pace.
In the three games to date, Mitchell has been a stand-out performer. He posted an aggressive 12 points in only 15 minutes of the double overtime opener against the Houston Rockets, poured in 26 points in 38 minutes of the following double overtime game against the Indiana Pacers through a barrage of drives and cuts into the lane, and put in a near-perfect all-around performance in the third game. In 29 minutes of action in tonight’s victory over the Atlanta Hawks, Mitchell posted 14 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals off the bench – doing so without committing a turnover.
Having been a shot-creating combo guard in college, Mitchell’s best usage – and best potential – will come from being allowed to do the same in the NBA. While his college career proved his scoring and all-around ability, transitioning from a role player to one with more responsibility – as he is now doing as an NBA sophomore – often brings growing pains. Through three games, though, Mitchell has not shown any of them. And that new contract is already proving to be a ridiculously good bargain.
As ball-handler, decision-maker, attacker, shooter, driver, passer and rim finisher, Mitchell has shown plenty of skill in an NBA body, and with Wallace, Shai, Dort and Alex Caruso able to help cover any defensive assignments, his efficiency, smart play, and the Thunderâs developmental infrastructure make him one of the smarter bets among second-year players. In a league where the sophomore leap often separates the wheat of the stars from the chaff of those who plateau, Mitchell may indeed go on to be the NBAâs best sophomore in the upcoming season. Three games is too early to call it, of course, but all the signs are positive.
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