OKC Thunder point guard Ajay Mitchell was having nothing short of a breakout season before an abdominal injury derailed his momentum.
Now, a month and a half into his hiatus, fans are wondering when they'll see their team's sixth man again.
Mitchell has missed 18 games and counting since his last game on January 21st, and there is still no timetable for his return. This could prove quite problematic down the stretch.
Thunder have clearly felt Ajay Mitchell's absence
Since officially breaking onto the scene at the beginning of the season, Mitchell has established himself as the x-factor for OKC.
Coach Mark Daigneault's squad is 37-6 when his backup point guard is in the rotation, and a middling 11-9 without him. Even when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been healthy, the Thunder are still just 5-5 when Mitchell is not there in the rotation along with him.
The Santa Barbara alumnus has posted a solid 14.1 points per game this year, but it's his defense that has been missed the most.
Before his injury, he ranked first in the NBA in defensive field goal percentage and was shutting down opposing guards on a nightly basis.
As a result, OKC was first in defensive rating and defensive field goal percentage as of January 21st. Since Mitchell's injury, they have been fifth and seventh, respectively.
Ajay Mitchell is not like the rest of the Thunder rotation
Granted, the sophomore isn't the only one who's been bitten by the injury bug this season.
So far, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso, Isaiah Hartenstein, Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Jaylin Williams have all missed at least 10 games.
All of those players boast ample playoff experience and can afford to miss games to prepare their bodies for April.
Of course, Mitchell, on the other hand, is extremely green on that front.
Having averaged just 7.0 minutes in last year's playoffs, his heightened role this season resembles nothing of his time in 2024-2025. He has played in just 79 NBA games to this point in his career, and he is currently missing the necessary reps to prime him for the upcoming playoff run -- his first as an integral part of the rotation.
Mitchell is one of the few Thunder players who have yet to experience a do-or-die atmosphere, as the majority of his postseason minutes came in blowouts.
With him and newly acquired Jared McCain likely in for a learning curve come mid-April, it will be interesting to see how much faith Daigneault puts in the two young scorers early on in their title defense.