06-07-2025
Ajay Mitchell could soon graduate from Summer League after dominating Grizzlies
Dancing with Phlandrous Fleming Jr., Ajay Mitchell spun around the Memphis defender and tripped him over his feet. He then bodied through Lawson Lovering's vertical contest for the fancy finish around the basket. The 23-year-old was in rhythm. After all, Summer League must've felt like small potatoes compared to the NBA Finals.
Mitchell finished with 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting, six assists and one rebound. He shot 1-of-3 from3 and went 3-of-3 on free throws. He also had a steal.
The Oklahoma City Thunder dropped a 92-80 Summer League loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. But as most know, the results of these games don't matter. Instead, the NBA champion has to feel good about how Mitchell looked.
Carrying the baton from Jalen Williams a couple of summers ago, Mitchell looked too good to be on the floor. He resembled his MVP teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with constant drives to the basket. He had no problem muscling his way through traffic or throwing up a soft floater that went in.
Fresh off a contract extension, Mitchell had 16 points in the first half. He was OKC's sole source of offense. He continued that in the second half. Everything looked too easy for the second-year player. This is the type of domination you wanted to see from the most NBA-ready player on your Summer League roster.
Let's see how many more Summer League games Mitchell has left, but this was an awesome start. Viewers tuned in for Nikola Topic's debut but left impressed with Mitchell. Those two could battle it out for the backup point guard minutes next season.
"Just trying to stay in rhythm. I think there are a lot of things we can do better as a team. I can do better, too," Mitchell said. "Just got to look forward to the next one."
