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Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Ajay Mitchell was named to the NBA’s Kia rookie ladder this week, cracking the league’s latest top 10 rookie ranking from the Class of 2024. While All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tied a career-high 45 points in the Thunder’s 120-114 win against the Indiana Pacers, Mitchell supplied nine points in 16 minutes off the bench.
Coming off his first career double-double (16 points, 12 rebounds) in 22 minutes against the Washington Wizards, Mitchell was a plus-22 in the Thunder’s 123-105 win. The second-round pick, 38th overall, caught the attention of the NBA’s weekly rookie rankings. However, Mitchell tries not to spend time keeping track, he explained during the Thunder shootaround.
“I don’t really pay attention to that that much, but I think I always have a chip on my shoulder and always believe I’m one of the best rookies of this class,” Mitchell said. “So, just trying to show it every night. Then, my main focus is just to win games and worry about my team. That’s about it.”
As a second-round pick, Mitchell exceeded expectations while locking down a permanent spot in Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault’s player rotation. However, Ajay doesn’t let the pressure of potentially losing his role get to him during his rookie season.
“It’s a competitive environment. I think that’s what we need to be a great team,” Mitchell added. “So, I’m not really worried about that. I think it’s positive, and it’s good for us.”
Ajay Mitchell has averaged 12.5 points on 83.3% shooting, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.0 steals in 19.0 minutes in the Thunder’s previous two games.
Mark Daigneault on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s ‘masterpiece’
Thunder power forward Chet Holmgren gushed over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s scoring dominance in the Thunder’s win against the Pacers. Tying his career-high 45 points on 15-of-22 shooting headlined Gilgeous-Alexander’s performance, but he also stuffed the stat sheet.
SGA also finished with eight assists, seven rebounds, two blocks, and one steal — which forced Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault to praise his star guard for his extraordinary play.
“Shai was outstanding tonight. That was a masterpiece,” Daigneault said. “I mean, he was at his own pace the entire night. I thought he moved it out of the early helps and got his teammates activated, but great blend of passing and attacking, great blend of shooting and attacking. He just had total control of the wheel tonight.”
The Thunder are on a nine-game winning streak and will look to stretch it to ten against the Hornets on Saturday night.
