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OKC Thunder NBA draft profile: Davion Mitchell – the defensive guard

By Tamberlyn Richardson

Davion Mitchell #45 of the Baylor Bears celebrates on the court after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs . (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Davion Mitchell #45 of the Baylor Bears celebrates on the court after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs . (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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Davion Mitchell #45 of the Baylor Bears sits on a ladder with the trophy after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Davion Mitchell strengths and weaknesses

Strengths:

Mitchell is the perfect example of a youngster who benefitted from remaining in his college program to develop and grow. The perimeter shot being the most obvious example of this strategy. Mitchell shot a subpar 28.8 percent on 1.6 attempts in his freshman season at Auburn but shot a robust 46.7 percent on 5.6 attempts in his final year with Baylor.

Playmaking is among his many talents as he’s able to deliver by driving the paint and kicking out accurate passes to teammates spotting up to shoot 3-pointers from the corners.

As a scorer, he’s versatile with the ability to connect from all areas of the court. Despite his diminutive size, he’s able to capitalize under the rim as defenders have to guard him for pull-ups or drives. Given his high I.Q., his decision-making is above par as he reads situations knowing when to use his speed to drive or fake out the defender with a change of pace or a hesitation move.

Yet the bread and butter of Mitchell’s game is his defense. Strangely his height listing varies by three inches depending on which site you check. Regardless, his frame is strong allowing him to body opponents, be a pest on the ball while his speed offers the perfect complement to that strength.

That defensive prowess will lead to immediate minutes as a rookie.

Weaknesses:

Despite his defensive chops his height will be a factor when he faces much taller opponents as you can’t teach height or reach.

While his age and extra college seasons allowed him to develop it also serves as a deterent highlighting specific areas that didn’t progress. To wit, for a guard with great decision-making skills his poor mastery of facilitating the pick and roll raises a red flag. .

Likewise, Mitchell doesn’t draw many fouls and when he does get to the line his 66.7 percent free throw efficiency is well below what teams desire their point guards to shoot. Moreover, does his poor free throw shooting offer a warning that last season’s 3-point efficiency was an outlier?

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