Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell opens season with six assists in win over Spurs
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The gist
Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell came off the bench for 4 points and a team-high 6 assists in a 116-104 win at San Antonio.
He's chasing Sixth Man of the Year after finishing fifth last season, but teammate Jared McCain is pushing him.
Background
Ajay Mitchell is a 24-year-old third-year guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, taken 38th overall in the 2024 draft after OKC traded up on Day 2 to select him. He went from a two-way project to the Thunder's impromptu Sixth Man scorer, averaging 13.6 points last season and finishing fifth in Sixth Man of the Year voting. After a summer of cost-cutting moves, OKC expects bigger things from him with more offensive responsibilities, and he has said he wants to win the award this year.
How it unfolded
- 2025 -26 seasonHe played 57 games for the Thunder, averaging 13.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists, and finished fifth in Sixth Man of the Year voting.
- Oct 15, 2026In the preseason finale at Houston, Mitchell started and had seven points on 3-of-10 shooting with three turnovers in a 116-89 loss.
- Oct 20, 2026In the season opener at San Antonio, Mitchell was not in the starting lineup and had 4 points, 5 rebounds and a team-high 6 assists in 23 minutes as OKC won 116-104.
- Oct 21, 2026OKC's opening-night win over San Antonio was a rematch of the 2026 Western Conference Finals; Jalen Williams and Mitchell were back after missing most of that playoff series.
Who’s saying what
- Analysts
- RotoWire Staff wrote that Mitchell struggled to generate offense in the preseason finale, missing all four three-point attempts with three turnovers.
- Analysts
- Thunderous Intentions wrote that Jared McCain outplayed Mitchell outright in Game 1 and that Mitchell failed to get out from under McCain's shadow for much of the night.
- Party
- A Bucks roundtable wrote that Milwaukee made a huge mistake by passing on Mitchell in the 2024 draft, while noting there is no guarantee he would've become this version of himself there.