OKC Thunder's Ajay Mitchell Selected Top 5 in 2024 NBA Redraft

Oklahoma City's third-year guard is fresh off a breakout season and could be a starter in 2026-27.

Sep 28, 2026; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell (25) poses for a photo during Oklahoma City Thunder Media Day at Paycom Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been one of the NBA's best teams at evaluating draft talent since arriving in the Sooner State.

General manager Sam Presti and OKC have drafted an impressive list of players, including multiple MVP winners, a handful of All-Stars and plenty of other helpful rotation pieces.

Even in classes that haven't featured a large talent pool, the Thunder have managed to find gems throughout the draft. The 2024 draft didn't include a large quantity of NBA contributors like many observers believe the 2026 class will, but Oklahoma City came away with one of the group's few standouts.

The Thunder selected Ajay Mitchell with the No. 38 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft after picking Nikola Topic and Dillon Jones in the first round.

Jones is no longer with the team, and Topic has played just 10 NBA games since being drafted. Mitchell, though, has blossomed into a key role player for the Thunder after a breakout season in 2025-26 that included an impressive postseason performance.

The former second-round pick averaged 13.6 points, 3.6 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 48.5% from the field and 34.7% from 3-point range in his second NBA season.

In the second round of the playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers, Mitchell averaged 22.5 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 56.3% from the field and 25% from 3-point range.

The skilled scorer suffered an injury early in OKC's series against the San Antonio Spurs, which proved to be a vital blow to the Thunder's offense.

In a recent redraft of the 2024 NBA Draft, writer Derek Parker slotted Mitchell as the No. 4 overall selection, checking in behind Stephon Castle, Alex Sarr and Matas Buzelis. Mitchell was joined by Jaylen Wells as the only second-round picks to earn a spot in Parker's redraft of the 2024 lottery.

After a breakout second season that saw Mitchell emerge as one of the top scoring options on a championship contending team, the former UC Santa Barbara standout has the potential to take on an even larger role for Oklahoma City in 2026-27.

Following a trade that sent Lu Dort to Atlanta, there is an open slot in the Thunder's starting lineup, and Mitchell will be one of the prime candidates to fill that role.

Alongside Mitchell, Jared McCain was slotted at No. 12 in Parker's 2024 redraft.