Grading the OKC Thunder 2024 NBA Draft Pick: Ajay Mitchell

The Oklahoma City Thunder have selected Ajay Mitchell in the 2024 NBA Draft it is time to grade the pick.

Mar 17, 2023; Denver, CO, USA; UC Santa Barbara Gauchos guard Ajay Mitchell (13) handles the ball against Baylor Bears during the first half in the first round of the 2023 NCAA men s basketball tournament at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Michael Ciaglo-USA TODAY Sports / Michael Ciaglo-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder have made a plethora of moves in the 2024 NBA Draft their latest was a trade chain that landed them the No. 38 pick in the draft where they selected UC Santa Barbara product Ajay Mitchell.

Mitchell is a 6-foot-3 guard with a 6-foot-6 wingspan checking in at 197 pounds, a four year player at UC Santa Barbara coming off a season of averaging 20 points, four rebounds, four assists and two stocks per game. The 22-year-old shot 50 percent from the floor, 39 percent from beyond the arc and 85 percent at the charity stripe.

The Oklahoma City Thunder clearly have a type - something they are not shying away from - “High processing on offense, high skill level with regards to vision and passing and that's combined with big players. People that can handle the ball, make decisions with the ball and are interchangeable. It's something we value in players... Some of the things we're able to add to the team tonight in general are consistent with things that we've been trying to focus on for several years now," General Manager Sam Presti said on Wednesday.

Mitchell fits that to a tee with the versatilely to play on or off the ball offensively and switchability on the defensive end utilizing every bit of his frame and lateral quickness.

The 22-year-old ranks in the 90th percentile as a pick-and-roll ball handler posting 1.014 points per possession a ranking that climbs to the 94th percentile on spot-up chances including 1.230 points per possession. While he can sit up his teammates, his driving ability - including the way he probes into the paint to get to his floater which he hits at a massive clip (55 percent) - is intriguing for NBA teams, especially the Thunder.

Mitchell ranked in the 90th percentile as an isolation scorer producing 1.111 points per possession in that setting.

Another around that the Santa Barbara stand-out shines is in transition where he registers 1.138 points per possession in such situations. Though, he will need to improve as a cutter - something he only did ten times last season - and while he shot 83 percentile from the floor when curling off screens it was only on 12 attempts this season which needs to see an uptick at the next level.

Mitchell turned in 44 percent shooting on catch-and-shoot chances, including 50 percent on guarded catch-and-shoot looks, while turning in 35 percent off the bounce and 62 percent at the rim getting it done at all three levels to drive the bus for the Gauchos offense.

When surrounded by the caliber of defenders Mitchell will enjoy playing with in Oklahoma City that side of his game improves by osmosis, a talented enough prospect to be hidden in the Thunder's scheme who also has a developmental staff to get that side of the floor up to snuff, which is already at a passable level.

It seems likely Oklahoma City has used this selection to place Mitchell on a two-way roster spot with at least one open after Olivier Sarr popped his Achilles in the NBA G League Finals ruling him out for the 2024-25 NBA season. The Thunder do not use a standard roster spot in this case but gain the benefit of all the upside with 50 NBA games to play with before making a decision.

Grade: A+ - Mitchell is a perfect swing in the second round with the electrifying flashes to fill it up at all three levels and both on and off the ball.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Inside the Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.