Ajay Mitchell’s breakout was another sign of the Thunder’s impressive depth

The Athletic has dwell protection of Thunder vs Lakers in Game 4 of the 2026 NBA Playoffs.

LOS ANGELES — Ajay Mitchell normally defaults to his straight face, however abandons it for this emerges. In concept, the opening stretch of Saturday’s fourth quarter, spent with out his Oklahoma City Thunder teammate and MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, left the Los Angeles Lakers room to maintain Game 3 ajar. But Gilgeous-Alexander’s eyes bulged from the scorer’s desk as he watched what unfolded: Mitchell skewered the Lakers, main a lineup that slowed him down.

I’ve dribbled the place I’ve happy. I’ve scored at totally different ranges. “My God,” SGA mouthed at one level, dazzled by Mitchell’s shotmaking. Only a Lakers timeout might cease Mitchell. Upon that whistle, after he’d all however secured the Thunder’s 131-108 win and a 3-0 sequence lead, he screamed at anybody in his neighborhood.

“It just felt like every time they had something, Ajay had an answer,” Gilgeous-Alexander mentioned postgame.

From the sideline, SGA watched the 23-year-old tally 9 factors and 4 assists in the fourth earlier than forcing the Lakers to name for time, ending with profession playoff highs in factors (24) and assists (10) in his fifth postseason begin.

Mitchell, counted on to start his second season as a dependable playmaker and offensive organizer, was thrust right into a larger function in these playoffs after All-NBA wing Jalen Williams strained his hamstring in the first spherical in opposition to the Phoenix Suns. That regular playmaking has been on show in opposition to three video games of meticulous defensive coverages from JJ Redick’s Lakers, who vowed to not let Gilgeous-Alexander beat them on an island. Suddenly, Mitchell’s obligations dwarfed his expertise.

Regular-season depth can show disappointing. In the playoffs, rotations shorten. Minutes develop scarce. Trust shrinks. Dependability wanes. The Thunder swap gamers, efficiently pushing sufficient buttons that Redick conceded to OKC’s roster development hours earlier than he pinned his group’s season to the mat.

“The (Nikola) Topić kid has dealt with some health stuff, and their rookie (Thomas Sorber) is dealing with coming back from his offseason surgery,” Redick mentioned pregame. “Literally, the other 13 guys are all top seven or eight rotation players in the NBA on any team. So, they can just hit you with bodies. Just the nature of how they built that team.”

With Gilgeous-Alexander religiously crowded by two defenders in Game 3, the Thunder wanted somebody to complement his poise and offensive load. They turned to Mitchell.

Much to Redick’s chagrin, Mitchell spent final season incubating. After encouraging flashes, turf-toe surgical procedure shut down a lot of his rookie yr. He spent rather a lot of time scouting, absorbing the internal workings of a championship group whereas recovering and making ready for his sophomore season.

This yr granted him an opportunity to exceed the expectations that include being an eyebrow-raising second-round decide. It provided a possibility to assist form the OKC offense, significantly at any time when Gilgeous-Alexander exited the recreation. Mitchell gained his minutes with out SGA in each Games 1 and a couple of, then broke even in Game 3.

“I feel like there’s already a high level of confidence for him individually, like, what he exudes,” heart Chet Holmgren mentioned. “Then there’s a high level of confidence that everyone around him has in him, and that’s just continuing to grow.”

The three finalists for this yr’s NBA’s Rookie of the Year award — Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and VJ Edgecombe — all logged extra minutes than Mitchell has for his profession. He’s performed 93 video games throughout two seasons. In his previous two video games, he has totaled 44 factors on 29 shot makes an attempt and 16 assists.

One of veteran Thunder guard Alex Caruso’s favourite moments from final yr’s title run was coach Mark Daigneault’s peculiar choice to play Mitchell in Game 1 of the NBA Finals after the then-rookie had performed sparingly for weeks. But Daigneault watched Mitchell on the group’s off days, when the end-of-bench reserves ran half-court scrimmages. He noticed what Mitchell is now displaying.

“I look back on that, and I say he’s making me look bad,” Daigneault half-joked. “We knew what we had. … I’d be sitting over here a year ago and watching him in these high-intensity things like, ‘What the hell am I doing?’”

Mitchell’s finest asset was his potential to create offense, threatening sufficient as a scorer and playmaker to attract consideration from the MVP beside him. But his development is most conspicuous when SGA sits, and he is guarded by starters with the group’s rhythm in his arms.

In this sequence, even with out exceptional 3-point effectivity, Mitchell is touching the paint at will. He hasn’t aligned himself with function gamers or reserves. He’s reached for stardom in Williams’ absence. In Game 3, he grew to become the first player since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City to report a minimum of 20 factors and 10 assists and not using a turnover.

“It felt like (Ajay) had 100,” Gilgeous-Alexander quipped to his teammates in the locker room.

Prior to Saturday, three gamers posted video games with a minimum of 10 subject objectives and 10 assists throughout this postseason: Nikola Jokić, Cade Cunningham and Scottie Barnes, every of whom did it twice. Add Mitchell to that group.

What he has lacked in effectivity or expertise, he is made up for in moments. He has provided as a lot assurance and poise as he has promise.

“It really doesn’t matter what happened the last possession or the last half or the last game, which is usually a mark of a more veteran player,” Daigneault mentioned of Mitchell’s disposition. “He’s got an innate ability to do that. He hangs in there long enough to play well.”

Gilgeous-Alexander has performed a task in curating the type of atmosphere that permits youthful errors and encourages enchancment. He watched Mitchell bulldoze via OKC’s vaunted protection throughout his first coaching camp and stay upright. For a guard prepackaged with composure, Gilgeous-Alexander provided extra perspective than confidence.

“You just try not to take it away,” Gilgeous-Alexander mentioned. “He’s human. Ajay definitely doubts things, I promise you that. You just always try to make sure that the doubt doesn’t take away from his confidence.

“You coach Ajay. You don’t be concerned about the emotional stuff.”

The Thunder’s depth allowed Daigneault to resolve that, after a pair of drilled 3s, it was Isaiah Joe’s flip and never Jared McCain’s. It allowed Cason Wallace to attain 11 first-quarter factors. It allowed the pairing of Isaiah Hartenstein and Holmgren, who shot a mixed 14-for-16 in the paint to account for 28 of the Thunder’s 64 paint factors. And it lined for Gilgeous-Alexander’s 7-of-20 taking pictures, a security internet about 12 males large by Redick’s estimate.

Redick’s pregame reward ultimately rang prophetic. The Thunder’s depth introduced ahead another would-be star in Mitchell, who in Game 3 loudly orchestrated the Lakers’ demise.