Ajay Mitchell did not just have a good Game 3. He had a Game 3 that makes opposing front offices stare into the distance and wonder how Oklahoma City keeps finding these guys.
In the Thunder’s 131-108 win over the Lakers, Mitchell led Oklahoma City with 24 points and 10 assists, scoring 18 after halftime as OKC turned a two-point halftime deficit into a 23-point road avalanche.
@opencourtAjay Mitchell did not just have a good Game 3. He had a Game 3 that makes opposing front offices stare into the distance and wonder how Oklahoma City keeps finding these guys. In the Thunder’s 131-108 win over the Lakers, Mitchell led Oklahoma City with 24 points and 10 assists, scoring 18 after halftime as OKC turned a two-point halftime deficit into a 23-point road avalanche. And the price tag is where the story becomes pure Sam Presti theater. Mitchell is on a three-year, $8.7 million contract with a $2.9 million average annual salary, including $4.5 million guaranteed. In 2025-26, his cap hit is listed at $3 million. For a playoff rotation guard giving Oklahoma City real creation, real poise and real two-way minutes, that is not a bargain. That is a clearance-rack heist with fingerprints all over the front office.
The Thunder are now 7-0 in the playoffs, and Mitchell has become one of the loudest answers to the question every opponent keeps asking: how deep does this team actually go?
Against the Lakers, Mitchell is averaging 20.7 points, shooting 53.3% from the field, and has 20 assists with only three turnovers in the series. That is not “nice young bench piece” production. That is “somebody please check the price tag” production.
And the price tag is where the story becomes pure Sam Presti theater. Mitchell is on a three-year, $8.7 million contract with a $2.9 million average annual salary, including $4.5 million guaranteed. In 2025-26, his cap hit is listed at $3 million. For a playoff rotation guard giving Oklahoma City real creation, real poise and real two-way minutes, that is not a bargain. That is a clearance-rack heist with fingerprints all over the front office.
The funny thing is, Mitchell might be too good for the role Oklahoma City can offer him. On most teams, a 6-foot-4 guard who can run offense, defend, score efficiently and keep the ball safe would be pushed toward 30 minutes and a serious featured role. On the Thunder, he sometimes feels like another luxury item in a garage already full of sports cars. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the MVP-level engine. Chet Holmgren changes the geometry. Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, Isaiah Hartenstein, Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, Isaiah Joe and the rest make Oklahoma City feel less like a roster and more like an overstuffed emergency kit.
Mitchell’s season numbers already hinted at this jump. 13.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists for the season, strong production for a young guard who entered the league as the 38th pick in the 2024 draft out of UC Santa Barbara.
Now he is doing it in May, against the Lakers, inside a series where every Thunder run feels like it comes from a different direction. That is the terror of OKC. Stop Shai, and Chet is waiting. Survive Chet, and Mitchell starts carving. Handle Mitchell, and someone else in blue jogs in like the next wave of a video game.
Presti has built a team so deep that breakout performances no longer feel surprising. They feel scheduled.
Ajay Mitchell may not be the headline name in Oklahoma City. But right now, he is one of the clearest signs that the Thunder are not just winning the present.
They are underpaying for the future.
