The Milwaukee Bucks have spent years trying to get more out of the NBA Draft, and the latest reminder of what got away came from one of the league’s newest success stories.
Ajay Mitchell, now with the Oklahoma City Thunder, said on The Young Man and the Three podcast that Milwaukee was a real possibility on draft night. He believed the Bucks might take him late in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft, especially because his sister lived in Wisconsin and the team had shown interest.
“My agents were like, ‘There's a chance you get picked late first. And I remember Milwaukee had like the 23rd pick or something.
And I went there. They really liked me.
My sister lived in Wisconsin, so I was like, "Can see that connection, and so my whole family was like, ‘This might be you in Milwaukee, and that would be great. And then the 23rd pick comes up, and Adam Silver comes up, and he's like, “With the 23rd pick, Milwaukee selects AJ, and then everyone in the room is like, "Oh my gosh, what's going on?
And then they say Johnson, and it gets so awkward. Like, I'm trying to be like, oh, it's all good, but in my head I'm like, what?”
Mitchell later said his sister was upset, but he tried to keep his head up after the Bucks went with AJ Johnson instead. The wait ended the next day, when Oklahoma City grabbed Mitchell with the No. 38 overall pick.
That turn has only made Milwaukee’s miss look worse in hindsight. Mitchell became an important part of the Thunder right away, averaging 6.5 points per game on 49.5% shooting from the field and 38.3% from 3-point range as a rookie. He also helped Oklahoma City win the championship in his first season.
Last year, he took another leap. Mitchell averaged 13.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 25.8 minutes per game, while shooting 48.5% from the field and 34.7% from deep. He finished top five in Sixth Man of the Year voting and then elevated again in the playoffs.
In the first round against the Phoenix Suns, Mitchell averaged 15 points per game. In the second round against the Los Angeles Lakers, he put up 22.5 points, three rebounds, six assists and 1.8 steals per game on 56.3% shooting, and he had three straight games with at least 20 points.
Mitchell’s name now joins a growing list of players Milwaukee passed on. In the 2024 draft, the Bucks took Johnson while Kyshawn George went next to the New York Knicks before being traded to the Washington Wizards.
George has also made a jump in his second season, after averaging 14.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 43.8% from the field and 38.1% from 3-point range. As a rookie, he shot 37.2% from the field and 32.2% from three.
The Bucks also missed on another batch of players in the 2022 NBA Draft, passing on Nikola Jovic, Peyton Watson and Andrew Nembhard to select MarJon Beauchamp. Beauchamp has since played for four different NBA teams and is now overseas.
For Milwaukee, Mitchell is just the latest draft-night what-if, and another one that will stick with fans.
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