The OKC Thunder are in the midst of preparing for the July 29th NBA Draft. In preparation for that event, Intentions offers our annual prospect profile series highlighting the players likely to be selected from the 2021 class.
This segment of our profiles features prospects most analysts believe will be selected in the group between six and ten of the draft. Baylor Bears point guard Davion Mitchell is earmarked in this range.
The junior made an impression in his final college season leading Baylor to the NCAA title by virtue of ending the Gonzaga Bulldog’s unbeaten season.
Each profile dives into key strengths and weaknesses, the presumed selection range for the prospect, and how they would fit with the Thunder.
With that let’s dive deeper into Mitchell and why teams are interested in the undersized guard.
OKC Thunder draft prospect profile for Davion Mitchell:
Specifics:
- Height: 6’1″
- Weight: 205 pounds
- Wingspan: 6’5″
- Position: Guard
- Birthdate/Age: September 5, 1998 – 22 years
- College: Baylor, junior
- Stat line: 14 points, 2.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.9 steals
- Home Town: Hinesville, Georgia
Box Score Statistics:
| Season | School | G | MP | FGA | FG% | 2PA | 2P% | 3PA | 3P% | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | Auburn | 34 | 17.1 | 3.1 | .429 | 1.6 | .566 | 1.5 | .288 | 0.9 | .677 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 3.7 |
| 2018-19-RS | Baylor | Tran | Tran | Tran | Tran | Tran | Tran | Tran | Tran | Tran | Tran | Tran | Tran | Tran | Tran |
| 2019-20 | Baylor | 30 | 32.4 | 8.6 | .409 | 5.1 | .467 | 3.5 | .324 | 2.7 | .663 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 1.5 | 9.9 |
| 2020-21 | Baylor | 30 | 33.0 | 10.3 | .511 | 5.6 | .565 | 4.7 | .447 | 2.1 | .641 | 2.7 | 5.5 | 1.9 | 14.0 |
Provided by CBB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 7/13/2021.
Current Ranking:
Our sister site doesn’t view Mitchell with the same vigor as the majority of sites where he typically falls into a trio of draft spots (7th through 9th).
- The Ringer: 7th
- NBA DraftNet: 9th
- ESPN: 7th
- CBS Sports: 8th
- NBA: 7th
- Bleacher Report: 8th
- FanSided The Step Back: 26th
Next up a look at Mitchell’s strengths and weaknesses.
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?
Pro Comparison:
Scan the names offered up as comparisons for Davion Mitchell and one common denominator is guards who are considered quality defenders like Jrue Holiday and Marcus Smart.
I’m not as sold on the Donovan Mitchell and Norman Powell offerings. Mitchell isn’t a player who hunts his own shot enough nor do I see him growing into the top offensive threat like Donovan Mitchell. Powell is more of a 3-point specialist and doesn’t take on much of he playmaking responsibilities.
Smart feels like the best role model for Davion to emuate with the Georgia native likely to provide backup point guard duties.
OKC Thunder fit:
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Davion Mitchell definitely falls in the range of the OKC Thunder sixth pick but it’s doubtful Sam Presti will pinpoint him in that spot.
While his defensive ability is compelling there are too many deterrents to him being the prospect tapped here. It’s likely the Bear’s guard will be featured as a Sixth Man option running the offense and providing the grit and leadership on defense for his team’s reserve unit.
OKC is invested in developing Theo Maledon who offers greater height and playmaking. There’s an argument Mitchell could provide the Luguentz Dort reserve role for the Thunder but again that seems far-fetched especially with the team leaning toward adding lengthier players to develop a positionles system.
Intentions believes Sam Presti will be actively working the phones to move up in the draft but even if he fails to accomplish that feat we don’t believe Mitchell would be the player the VP selects with the sixth pick.