Even during his under-the-radar rookie go-around out in the Sooner State a season ago, OKC Thunder fans were well aware that GM Sam Presti had found yet another hidden gem in the second round of the NBA Draft.
Now, as they begin their final descent on the 2025-26 regular season, it seems the rest of the league is finally starting to come to this same realization.
In a recent piece penned by Fred Katz of The Athletic, the veteran NBA writer declared Mitchell one of the 10 most surprising players of the season.
From praising his surprise ability to stabilize the offense without cornerstone Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the floor -- a major flaw in their game last year -- to his trusty ball-handling skills, Katz is not only making the case that the reigning champions are "now even scarier" with the sophomore's breakout, but that the guard himself should be considerd for numerous end-of-season accolades, such as Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved Player.
Considering he's boasting tremendous averages of 14.1 points, 3.6 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game on 48.8 percent shooting from the floor, seeing such claims being made should be far from a surprise.
To Thunder fans, this kind of recognition has been nearly two years in the making.
Ajay Mitchell does more for Thunder than just provide effective offense
Though Mitchell may be receiving this kind of newfound attention thanks to his standout offensive production, for the Thunder, he's far more than a mere scoring weapon.
The fact of the matter is, the 23-year-old is one of the best defenders this top-ranked defensive unit has at their dissposal.
Currently, Mitchel ranks in with the league's second-best defensive rating of 102.7 and places second among his second-year peers in steals per game (1.3), both among those who have played in 50 or more games on the season.
On top of this, he ranks fourth on the Thunder in opponent field goal percentage (42.7), third in opponent turnovers (17.4), and fifth in opponent points allowed when on the court.
Add all of this to the fact that OKC places in the 86 percentile in points per 100 possessions, the 92 percentile in opponent effective field goal percentage, and the 98 percentile in point differential when he's in the game, and there's really no denying that Mitchell is truly a game-changing, two-way force for the defending champions.