From being the hunters to the hunted, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell is feeling the difference on a personal level in 2025-26. Mitchell is having one of the most surprising starts in the NBA this season. From a third-string guard to one of the Thunder's main facilitators, Ajay's ascension has head coach Mark Daigneault telling reporters that the 2024 second-round pick has elevated in opposing teams' scouting reports.
Amid the Thunder's 13-1 start, Mitchell has evolved as one of the critical players opposing teams focus on slowing down heading into a matchup against the defending champions.
“He's getting game-planned for now. And there's a difference between being on the scouting report and being game-planned for,” Daigneault explained. “There's adjustments that teams are making to what makes him effective, and that's how you get better as a player. You, first of all, establish yourself as a good player, and then, as teams try to take away certain things, you have to develop layers to your game.
“He's done that already, but we'll have to continue to do that to continue to improve, and we're confident that he will,” Daigneault concluded.
Mitchell finished with 14 points on 6-for-15 shooting, six rebounds, four assists, one block, and one steal in Saturday's 109-96 win against the Charlotte Hornets. He's averaging 16.7 points on 45.7% shooting, 4.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.8 steals in 28.3 minutes per game for the Thunder this season, as Mitchell's breakout season marches on.
For a player who averaged 6.5 points in 16.6 minutes his rookie season, Mitchell has scored in double figures in 13 of 14 games, including a career-high 26 points in a 141-135 double-overtime win against the Indiana Pacers. He also scored 21 points twice in four days, including dishing a career-high 10 assists in a 132-101 win against the Sacramento Kings.
Thunder winning despite injuries is a testament to roster depth
Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell's breakout start is a testament to the defending champion's roster depth amid All-Star Jalen Williams' absence. The Thunder remain near-perfect throughout a historic beginning, which has NBA analyst Chris Mannix calling it the best start he's ever seen.
Without All-Defensive players such as Lu Dort and Williams, the Thunder has prevailed, with young players such as Mitchell, leading the charge, Mannix said, per Open Floor: SI's NBA Show.
“This is the most impressive start to a season that I have ever seen because of those circumstances,” Mannix said. “I wondered coming in would this team be able to level up. I knew they were going to get better organically, but they have leveled up across the board. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looks a little bit better. Chet Holmgren looks a little bit better. Ajay Mitchell, we talked about him a little bit, looks like the Most Improved Player out of nowhere.”
The Thunder will look to go 14-1 when it faces the Pelicans on Monday.
