Though everyone may be over the moon with excitement about the recent return of Jalen Williams and his potential to be the ultimate X-Factor in a repeat run for the OKC Thunder now that he's at full health, it appears there's a case to be made that another Robin has emerged for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's Batman.
Yes, the All-Star tandem of SGA and J-Dub proved integral to their championship excursion a year ago, and should once again in the 2026 playoffs, but while the latter was sidelined this year due to offseason wrist surgery and multiple bouts with a nagging hamstring strain, Ajay Mitchell has seemingly filled in as the reigning MVP's top sidekick.
The results have been absolutely astounding.
With the duo of Shai and Ajay on the floor, the Thunder find themselves producing like arguably the best two-way club in the association, placing in the 91 percentile in opponent points per 100 possessions, the 93 percentile in effective field goal percentage, and the 99 percentile in both points per 100 possessions and point differential, per Cleaning the Glass.
On top of this, among the two-man duos in the league this season who have played 45 or more games together, the Thunder pair ranks 15 in offensive rating (122.2) and eighth in net rating (17.8).
Most importantly, of course, Oklahoma City has gone a whopping 44-7 when the two have suited up together.
So while getting Williams back into the mix is far more than a mere luxury, given the way things have been trending with OKC's new dynamic duo of Gilgeous-Alexander and Mitchell, it already seemed like a foregone conclusion that this team was beelining toward a second consecutive title.
Jalen Williams makes Thunder truly haunting for any playoff opponent
Though there may be a fresh new studly tandem residing out in the Sooner State, this by no means suggests Williams' reintroduction to the lineup is anything short of a major win for the Thunder's repeat hopes.
It makes their odds of doing so even stronger.
Let's not forget how lethal the forward proved himself to be, even at sub-full strength, during last year's playoff run.
While dealing with an undisclosed torn ligament in his right wrist that literally forced him to adopt a new shooting form to cope with the pain and required surgery soon after the season ended, he still managed to post 23.6 points per game in the NBA Finals and even dropped 40 on Indiana in a pivotal Game 5 win.
Since returning to the lineup back on March 23 following a 16-game, injury-induced hiatus, Dub has been rather efficient in limited action, dropping 16.3 points, 4.8 assists, and 3.5 boards on 50.0 percent shooting from the floor in just 25.0 minutes per game.
He's also gone on record to reveal that his surgically repaired wrist has never felt better.
Needless to say, it seems the defending champs are starting to get right at the perfect time, and the rest of the NBA should be terrified at what they could go on to accomplish once they're all on the same page.