2024-25 Thunder player grades: Ajay Mitchell

The calendar has flipped to August, which means we've officially hit the low point of the NBA cycle. The next couple of months are the driest part of the year. Everybody has headed to vacation and awaits training camp to kick off the 2025-26 season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder continue to enjoy their NBA championship. They had a historic 68-14 regular-season campaign that eventually led to the franchise's first title with a 2025 NBA Finals Game 7 win. They'll enter next season as a favorite to be a rare repeat winner.

To reflect on their title run, Thunder Wire will conduct 2024-25 season grades for all 19 players who suited up for the squad at one point during the year. Thirteenth up is Ajay Mitchell, who had a promising start to his career despite injuries:

2024-25 statistics:

• 6.5 points
• 1.9 rebounds
• 1.8 assists
• 49.5% shooting
• 38.3% 3-point shooting
• 82.9% free-throw shooting

Advanced stats:

• True-shooting percentage: 58.7%
• Usage rate: 16.2%
• Win shares: 1.5
• VORP: 0.1

Significant Percentile Finishes:

• Transition scorer: 15.3 percentile

Contract:

• 2025-26: $3 million
• 2026-27: $2.9 million
• 2027-28: $2.9 million (team option)

Thoughts:

Being on a two-way deal to start the season, Mitchell was the rare player who never suited up in the G League. Instead, he loudly knocked on the door and forced the Thunder to play him from the start. The 23-year-old had a strong start to his rookie season that was eventually torpedoed by injury.

The Thunder desperately needed another ball-handler. When Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was off the floor, the offense plummeted. Mitchell helped it stay above water as the backup guard. A couple of months into the season, he was a staple in OKC's rotation.

It didn't take long for Mitchell to surpass his draft spot. The second-round rookie gained rotation minutes on an NBA champion. He was a steady hand who could run the offense. He drove to the basket and was a good catch-and-shoot option. He helped Jalen Williams dominate on the bench lineup.

Everything looked great for Mitchell. He was ready to contribute from the start. Isaiah Hartenstein campaigned for him to win Rookie of the Year. He was well on his way to getting converted to a standard contract. Then a toe turf injury sidelined him.

Mitchell required surgery. He missed three months of the regular season. He managed to return before the playoffs started, but his rustiness and inexperience made it difficult for him to get serious minutes in the postseason. Instead, he was on the outside looking in with OKC's rotation.

While the injury ruined any chances for rookie accolades, it was just a speed bump. The Thunder felt confident enough in Mitchell to convert him to a standard deal, anyway. They liked what they saw in his limited action. The 23-year-old showed he could fit the traditional backup point guard role.

Moving Forward:

It looks like the Thunder nailed another second-round pick. All the hoopla they went through to add Mitchell was worth it. They gave him a new contract this offseason to keep him around. He's had quite the journey from a two-way player to receiving NBA Finals minutes.

Let's see if Mitchell can take the next step in his development. He showed some flashes of it at Summer League. He was the Thunder's top scorer by playing a drive-heavy brand of scoring. He'd get to the lane and either finish through traffic or go to the free-throw line. That looked promising. Especially if he can draw contact more often.

Mitchell could also improve as a playmaker. The assist numbers weren't great. He was more of a score-first guard. But that type of improvement comes with time. No reason to think he won't be better at making reads with more reps in the future.

The Thunder will need to figure out who their backup guard will be next season. Mitchell will certainly be in the mix. His main competition will be Nikola Topic. Those two young players will battle it out to see who's more ready to contribute right away and who needs more time to develop in the G League.

Taking a guess, Mitchell looks to be the former. It makes sense, being three years older than Topic. He also has NBA experience on his side. It's a good problem to have, as the backup guard role was one of the Thunder's few weak spots last season.

As the Thunder get more expensive, they will need players like Mitchell to step up as rotation players. He's a young player on a cheap contract who can continue to grow. At worst, he has a safe floor of being a bench player. OKC's roster is filled with guys who played above their draft status. He could be another example of that.

Final Grade: B-minus

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: 2024-25 Thunder player grades: Ajay Mitchell