The Thunder have bigger names, bigger contracts and bigger spotlight magnets, but Ajay Mitchell has a chance to carve out something real in 2026-27: Sixth Man buzz.
That’s the lane he’s in now after a breakout season pushed him near the top of Oklahoma City’s rotation. Mitchell gave the Thunder exactly what they’ve needed for years - a secondary ball-handler who could steady things and create when the offense needed another gear.
He made his loudest statement in the playoffs, averaging 22 points in OKC’s four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers. Perform like that on the postseason stage, and people notice.
The setup is there for more. The Thunder are one of the league’s best teams, which means they’ll be on national TV plenty.
That kind of exposure matters when award chatter starts circulating. Mitchell doesn’t need to force the issue to get into the Sixth Man of the Year conversation; he just needs to keep stacking productive nights and stay in the double-digit scoring range.
If he does that consistently, he’ll have a real case as one of the league’s best bench players.
But the first order of business is simpler: stay on the floor.
Health has been the major concern through Mitchell’s first two seasons. As a rookie, he appeared in just 36 games after toe turf surgery wiped out three months.
This past season, he got into 57 games, but injuries kept interrupting his rhythm, and a soleus strain ended his year four games early during OKC’s epic Western Conference Finals duel. If he’s going to matter the way the Thunder need him to, availability has to become part of his game.
There’s also a stylistic piece to that. Mitchell’s game is built on force, with those head-down drives that put pressure on defenses and often turn into collisions.
That aggression has helped make him one of OKC’s top players, but it has also come with a physical cost. Maybe there’s a way for him to lean more on the jumper and cut down on some of the contact.
Maybe it’s just been bad luck. Either way, the Thunder need a healthier version of him next season.
And if Mitchell wants another jump offensively, the free-throw line is the obvious place to look.
That’s where the scoring ceiling gets higher. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams have already shown how much damage that can do.
Mitchell could be next. He has the best scoring bag among the supporting pieces, and with his drive-heavy style, he should be drawing more contact as his role expands.
He averaged 2.8 free-throw attempts last season, and that number should climb if the Thunder keep adding to his workload.
He already plays like a blue-collar scorer, attacking the rim and taking hits in the paint. The next step is making those collisions work for him more often.
He doesn’t spend much time pleading for whistles, but at this point he’s earned enough cache to do it. If he can unlock that part of his game, the points should follow.
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Kevin Durant Just Reopened A Thunder Wound OKC Fans Know Well
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Jalen Williams Is Giving Thunder Fans Reason To Feel Better
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The encouraging part for Thunder fans is that the recovery and training work appears to be trending the right way. Ilics recent updates have pointed to steady progress in Williams offseason program, a welcome sign for a player whose talent has never been in doubt but whose availability has been tested. For a team with title expectations, any hint that Williams is moving closer to a cleaner, sturdier stretch is reason to pay attention. [Read more 🡒]