The OKC Thunder have an undeniable star on the rise in Ajay Mitchell.
After coming in as a pleasant surprise and earning his keep in coach Mark Daigneault's regular rotation during his rookie campaign, he took the year-two leap in 2025-26, posting an impressive 13.6 points, 3.6 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game while finishing fifth in the running for Sixth Man of the Year.
Now, heading into year three, many believe Mitchell is a prime breakout candidate, with FanDuel giving him the second-best odds to take home 6MOY honors.
For those who have watched the guard play throughout his young career, this high praise for his potential should come as no surprise.
Of course, the issue when it comes to Mitchell actually realizing it is his frequent run-ins with health-related ailments.
Injuries are the only thing holding Thunder star back from stardom
Whenever he's on the hardwood, Mitchell has only proven himself capable of impacting this Thunder team at an extremely positive level. This past season, he even ranked fourth in the league in plus-minus among those who played in 50 or more games, and led all eligible players in such a category during the postseason.
The problem is, he's struggled to stay on the floor through this point.
In year one, Mitchell was held to just 36 games played due to a bad run-in with turf toe, and then missed just under two straight months of action this past season due to a hip contusion.
After returning to the court in early March, it took just two more months before he suffered a right soleus calf strain that directly ended his epic postseason run that saw him dropping 18.4 points and 4.7 assists while filling in for the hobbled Jalen Williams in the first-five lineup.
When he's actually active and healthy, there's no denying the kind of upside the Thunder youngster has. From comparisons to New York's Jalen Brunson to even OKC's own Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, it's clear that stardom is believed to be a realistic outcome for Mitchell.
However, said potential is impossible to fully reach if he continues to log fewer than 65 games per year.
The unfortunate reality is, injuries are generally unpredictable. So while he may be putting in the work necessary this summer to up his production even more in 2026-27, unless he can put these health woes to rest, seeing Mitchell unlock his full potential is far from guaranteed.
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