LAS VEGAS – Suddenly, Ajay Mitchell has spent the past month managing an NBA first-world problem.
The challenge: how to manage varying emotions between enjoying a glorious present and preparing for an opportune future.
Mitchell spent three days celebrating the Oklahoma City Thunder winning their first NBA championship before preparing for Summer League play. Mitchell agreed to a contract extension while he works on his game ahead of a likely bigger role in his second NBA season.
“I was really excited,” Mitchell told Sportskeeda. “It’s always great to see. I’m really excited for the future.”
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Mitchell, whom the Thunder selected at No. 38 last year, spoke to Sportskeeda about his Summer League play, chemistry with Nikola Topić and what he has learned from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Alex Caruso and more.
Editor’s note: The following one-on-one conversation has been edited
and posted.
Ajay Mitchell Exclusive
How would you evaluate Summer League so far?
Mitchell: “It’s been great. I think it was really important for me to get reps and to get into playing. I’m really excited to be out here and compete.”
What are you trying to get out of Summer League?
Mitchell: “I think a little bit of everything: being a great player on both ends of the floor, being a great player for my teammates and being able to make plays for myself and be aggressive on both ends. It’s a little bit of everything with being a better overall player on both ends of the floor. Then I’m just working on every part of my game – shooting, defending, playmaking. It’s everything. Everything that I can work on this summer is what I’m going to do.”
What are your impressions of Nikola?
Mitchell: “I really enjoy playing with him. He’s a great guard and a high-IQ guard. He’s a really good point guard. I’m excited to play with him. We’re understanding how we can play with each other. We’re understanding how I can be off the ball and how he can be on the ball as well as how I can be on the ball and how he can be off the ball. We’re being able to have that connection on that court.”
How do you evaluate your rookie season with the opportunities you got and managing your injury [missed 46 games last season with a toe injury]?
Mitchell: “I think it was a great learning experience for me. It was my first major injury. So going through that and learning how to manage that and learning how to play in the NBA was a great first year for me. I learned a lot. I’m really excited for the future. I was patient with myself and never getting too low about it. And then I think just staying the course and staying engaged in everything that we do as a team. I think that really helped me come back and be ready to go.”
What did you to maximize your opportunities before and after your injuries?
Mitchell: “I think it was really important to me as a first-year player to be able to have that experience with playing in the first games, and then be able to come back and already know what I was waiting for. Obviously when I was out for that long, I was able to watch film with coaches and being around my teammates and learning from them. I think it really helped me to come back even stronger.”
What did you get out of the various stints you had in the postseason?
Mitchell: “That was a great experience. My first year being able to compete in the playoffs and learn what the playoffs really is was awesome for me. It was fun. I think for me as a first-year player, I learned really what the playoffs are all about and then understood what it takes to win a championship. That really meant a lot. That will really help me in the future. It’ll help me become a better player and help me know where I can impact a game. Defensively, I can be really aggressive and pick up full court. Offensively, I can make simple plays and make the right play.”
The Thunder are known to draft and develop players well. How did they do that with you?
Mitchell: “It’s awesome. They had a plan from the beginning. They really helped me. All I had to do was put the work in. Everything else, they took care of it. It was really easy. They do a little bit of everything. Schedule-wise, they make sure we got everything set up for me. I just have to show up and do my work. Working with different coaches and just learning the game, I think that has really helped me.”
Shai made the remark that he and Jaylen [Williams] often joked that it’s obvious you played many years in college based on how you play. How did your time at UC Santa Barbara shape you?
Mitchell: “I think it really helped me. College basketball was always a dream of mine coming from Belgium. Having the experience of playing multiple years really helped me get better as a player. It helped me understand the game a little bit more.”
What has the post-championship glow been like?
Mitchell: “It’s been crazy. Right after winning, there were three long days of just enjoying it. Looking back at it, I don’t think I’ve realized it yet because we’ve been going for so long. But it’s crazy that we’re champions. I haven’t really processed it yet. Obviously, I’m really excited. Winning an NBA championship was always a dream of mine. You win your first year, and now you want to win every year. You just want to get back to work and get ready for next season.”
How did you enjoy it during those three days?
Mitchell: “I enjoyed it a lot. I loved it. I had my family. I was able to be with my teammates. The best part was the parade and being able to see the fans and see what it really meant to them. We were walking almost the whole parade. We weren’t really on the bus. But we were with the fans. I think that’s the biggest highlight. We really shared that moment with them.”
In what ways has Shai been a leader to you?
Mitchell: “I think the way he leads by the way he acts. Seeing him in the gym after practice and before practice, and the way he takes care of his body. It’s just the way he’s consistent throughout everything. For young players like us, it’s really important to have leaders like that and see how they go about the game. It really helped me just learn from him, not only just asking questions. But looking at what he does and looking at the way he acts really helps.”
With all the team’s great defenders with Jalen [Williams], [Alex] Caruso, [Lu] Dort and Cason Wallace, what things have you picked up from them that can apply to your game?
Mitchell: “They’re great defenders. They’re the best defenders in the league. Seeing how they go about the game, for me it was the way they watched film. I think it was kind of different than in college. There, we just watch film. But they were really pointing on the guys they were going to guard. It’s the way the game is so slow for them on defense, the way they can make reads and be playmakers on defense, I think that’s a big part of it. It’s not just about guarding your guys, but being able to make defensive plays. They can read players and get steals. The way they go about defense is amazing. There is a lot to learn from.”
When they watch film, what things do they share?
Mitchell: “They try to share everything to us. Obviously when we guard guys, we’re not going to say what we are doing on them. But the way they teach us helps. Caruso was a big part of teaching me how to guard with the way you guard on the ball and off the ball. It’s really just about learning from them. Obviously when I was hurt, I saw how they guarded the ball. That’s when I realized this is what it takes to be a defensive player. It takes a lot.”
Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Sportskeeda. Follow him on X, Blue Sky, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.
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