Last season, Ajay Mitchell already established himself as a promising young prospect in the association as well as a consistent rotation piece within this championship-tested OKC Thunder rotation.
Now, in 2025-26, it's evident that the point guard has managed to raise his play to a new level, and coach Mark Daigneault seems to know exactly what has aided in his hot start to the campaign.
Thunder coach talks hot start of sophomore season for Ajay Mitchell
During a post-game media session following Oklahoma City's 117-100 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night, a game where Mitchell dropped 14 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and two steals, the headman was asked by reporters "what's gotten into Ajay," and what he believes to be the biggest difference is between his play in year two compared to his rookie season.
While he admitted that Mitchell may not have been performing at these heights on as consistent a basis, Daigneault noted that "he was doing this very early last year," though he has obviously gotten even better overall since then.
To him, the main reasons for this level-up in production are the guard's added strength and newfound familiarity with the pace of play in the NBA.
"I think the biggest difference is just a combination of strength -- he had a really good summer -- and then I think the game slowed down a little bit for him," Daigneault said.
As Daigneault acknowledged, Mitchell did manage to carve his way into the Thunder rotation early on last season, even seeing 15.2 minutes a night over their first five games played.
Of course, there's a sizable difference between these averages and his current mark of 27.0. In turn, the same can easily be said about the rest of his counting stats, as he finds himself posting an impressive all-around stat line of 18.7 points, 4.3 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.0 steals while shooting 46.7 percent from the floor and 41.7 percent from deep.
After being snatched up with the 38 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and wrapping up his first season ranking fifth in three-point percentage (38.3) and first in defensive rating (100.0) among his rookie peers who saw 30 or more games played, many viewed Mitchell as one of the biggest steals from his respective class.
Now, with this sensational play right out of the gates in year two, he's seemingly migrated from this diamond-in-the-rough moniker and into more of a breakout star on the rise label.
Should he keep this level of play up, or even sustain anywhere close to this kind of production, over these next few years, considering his new contract gradually descends and is only fully guaranteed for this season, there's a realistic chance that Michell's pact with the Thunder could one day be universally viewed as the biggest bargain in the entire association.