Stiles Points: Ajay Mitchell Helps Elevate OKC Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

The Oklahoma City Thunder have seen Ajay Mitchell elevate their roster and their superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in his rookie season. Mark Daigneault and Gilgeous-Alexander offered the rookie high praise.

Dec 29, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell (25) grabs a pass over Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells (0) during the second quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Oklahoma City Thunder downed the Memphis Grizzlies to earn its 11th straight win - excluding the Milwaukee Bucks loss which does not count in the regular season standings - pushing its record to 26-5. This marks the best start in Oklahoma City history.

It was another career night from rookie Ajay Mitchell who posted a career-best 17 points (including 10 in the first-half), three assists, a rebound and a steal on 54 percent shooting from the floor in 21 minutes. Proving to be the rare instant-impact first-year guard.

A large chunk of those minutes were spent alongside Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, as the Thunder's no. 38 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft is not only helping elevate the OKC Thunder at large, but specifically its superstar.

"He is just another guy that is a steady hand on the wheel. When he has the ball in his hands, he makes very sound plays. He can score, he can shoot, he can play in the mid-range, he can get to the rim. Then, he makes the right reads. So He can play on the ball, he can play off the ball. He is pretty dynamic there," Head coach Mark Daigneault said when asked about Mitchell's pairing with the Thunder star, citing he helps Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein in that regard as well.

It is never promised that a second-round rookie will find his way into the rotation for an NBA club, particularly the reigning no. 1 seed out West, who made blockbuster offseason moves and again sits atop the conference. Not even Gilgeous-Alexander expected this instant impact from the rookie, but that perception changed as early as training camp.

"There was a practice where we were playing, and he made like six or seven plays in a row. One was a layup off a pick-and-roll, the other one was an assist to the corner off the pick-and-roll, the other one was a low-man play, the next one was a 3-ball and it was all in a row. You could tell he was taught how to play. He just plays off his feel and he makes the right decision most of the time because of that. When you can feel the game, you can play anywhere," Gilgeous-Alexander said of Mitchell's training camp performance.

The Oklahoma City Thunder superstar agrees that the rookie makes life easier on him, giving the Thunder - and Gilgeous-Alexander - a look they have not seen in awhile. Perhaps since Chris Paul was in town allowing the star to play off-ball.

"For myself, he makes the game easy. He takes the pressure off, if someone is pressuring me coming up the court, obviously [he is] a great handler. He also sees the game at a very high-level so I can cut back door. I can save my energy and get freed up off the ball and he will find me. He is special. Regardless of his situation and the lack of hype around him and his name. He inflects winning basketball and that is hard to come by, especially for a rookie," Gilgeous-Alexander said.

The star was also quick to highlight how the rookie helps the overall team, proving to play the part of a winning player, helping Oklahoma City earn its best start in franchise history.

"Ajay [Mitchell] does a lot for our team," Gilgeous-Alexander said "He pushes the pace, he plays so hard on both ends of the floor that he raises the level of our intensity. Then, he is such a good decision maker on the ball, in close outs, he makes reads every possesion...Me and [Jalen Williams] joke that we can tell, by the way he plays, that he went to college for four years...he helps us win. Obviously, his, I guess, situation coming into the season you might not have expected this. I certainly didn't, but after being with him for the first couple of weeks of training camp and preseason you could see where he is going with it...He is just a hooper, he plays hard, he trusts his work."

This season, Mitchell is averaging 6.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 0.9 stocks per game while shooting 51 percent from the floor, 46 percent from 3-point land and 80 percent at the charity stripe on 16.3 mintutes a night. In his last five games, the four-year college standout has posted 10.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 0.8 stocks per game on 63/53/71 shooting splits.

"Sam [Presti] loved [Ajay Mitchell] from the jump. I can remember him all the way back into last season, he was on the road watching him and telling me about [Ajay Mitchell] before I ever laid eyes on him," Daigneault said "We went through the [draft process] with him, we have an extensive draft process and we do it with a lot of guys. We got to know him, just like everybody else. He came in the right way, he approached summer league impressively, he has been ridiculously impressive. He attacked the program. He has done everything from a baseline standpoint that makes it easy to bet on him."

Oklahoma City was right to bet on Mitchell, he is helping the Thunder - and its star - hit a new gear.

Stiles Points

• Kenrich Williams turned in12 points off the bench, 3-for-4 from beyond the arc to go along with three rebounds, three assists. Another game in which the veteran was one of Oklahoma City's top players, providing a massive boost off the bench.
• Isaiah Hartenstein launched two triples, still in search of his first 3-pointer to find the bottom of the net in Oklahoma City. However, this is the first multi-attempt game from him as a member of the Thunder. As teams continue to dramatically sag-off the seven-footer outside, perhaps this will be a growing trend.
• Jalen Williams had a bounce-back game, only missing four shots from inside the arc but truly having his mid-range game working. His stat-line isn't as flashy as it would've been had this been a competitive contest, but a nice showing from the Thunder's rising star.
• Gilgeous-Alexander is in line to pull off back-to-back player of the month awards, which will be announced soon as December comes to a close.

Song of the Day: Casey Jones by Grateful Dead

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