Ajay Mitchell
Mitchell is a high-minutes guard on a deep, healthy-dependent Thunder roster. Whether he starts or leads the second unit appears to depend on Jalen Williams' and Cason Wallace's health, and I could not confirm the current starting five.
Role
Last season he averaged 13.6 points, 3.6 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 25.8 minutes over 57 games (Yahoo/ClutchPoints; Fox Sports player page). He started 16 of those games and was mostly the sixth man. An ESPN player-page blurb (23 days old) said early indications were about 24 minutes per game. Fox Sports' player page, which shows no date for individual items, lists a preseason finale start against Houston with a starting five of Gilgeous-Alexander, Caruso, Williams, Hartenstein and Mitchell, with Wallace sliding to the second unit. The same page says Wallace was back and starting the regular-season opener. CBS/RotoWire shows Mitchell starting one preseason game and not starting the next. I could not confirm today's starting five or any back-to-back rest plan. The wire note says he rests for Tuesday's preseason game against the Pacers, and I found nothing further on it.
SI argued in the offseason that Mitchell starting is the Thunder's most obvious option. He was the secondary star beside Gilgeous-Alexander for much of the 2026 playoffs and was in the Sixth Man of the Year mix. He averaged 13.6 points on 48.5% shooting last season, and Daigneault praised his growth and fearlessness. RotoWire items describe his importance as growing, and one says he could step up this season.
Oklahoma City is deep and Daigneault has used Wallace, Dort and Mitchell as the fifth starter depending on health. SI itself noted Mitchell may be best suited to keep coming off the bench. ESPN's blurb says the jury is still out on his role and projects only around 24 minutes, close to last year's 25.8. His starts have mostly come when Williams, Wallace or Dort were hurt, so a full-strength roster could trim his minutes. Rest days and a calf strain late in the 2026 playoffs (per NBC Sports) add some availability risk. I found no current report on the calf.
Where analysts split
The disagreement is whether Mitchell holds a permanent starting spot or returns to the sixth-man role once Williams and Wallace are both healthy. SI's offseason piece leans toward starting him, and the preseason evidence is mixed. His minutes and usage depend on that answer.
Research confidence: thin. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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