Thunder news: Mark Daigneault reveals the origin of Ajay Mitchell's newfound confidence

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OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault watched Ajay Mitchell’s season end short of Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals. After Thunder GM Sam Presti predicted Mitchell will take a leap in his growth this upcoming season, Daigneault agrees, as he can already see a difference in Ajay’s approach.

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After the Thunder’s second day of training camp, Daigneault said Mitchell’s building on an impressive playoff stint ahead of the 2026-27 season.

“He had a great playoff run, which, I think, you can never underestimate the confidence that gives somebody when they’re able to perform as well as he did on that stage,” Daigneault said. “And not just offensively. I think everybody’s mind goes to offense, but he was guarding Austin Reaves. He’s to the point where he’s taken on primary matchups for us. I think he gained a lot of confidence from that.

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“Then, he put a great summer in. He got himself healthy, obviously, after an end-of-season injury. His body looks great. His game looks tight. He’s another guy that kind of knows who he is. He’s really caught up to the pitching of the NBA game, and he looks great.”

Thunder’s Ajay Mitchell suffered a season-ending calf injury in their best-of-7 Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. After playing in the first three games, Mitchell missed games 4 through 7, where the Spurs eliminated the Thunder, 4-3.

Mitchell’s breakout season, where he averaged 13.6 points, 3.6 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game, led to him finishing fifth in the Sixth Man of the Year voting.

Sam Presti endorses Thunder’s Ajay Mitchell

Thunder GM Sam Presti talked about Ajay Mitchell’s growth in his preseason address ahead of 2026-27. As Mitchell enters his third season with the Thunder, Presti reminded reporters of how good Ajay can be this upcoming season.

“He’s a work in progress. He, like a lot of guys on our team, we lost him for a majority of his rookie year, and certainly a crucial period of time in the playoffs last year. Even a big portion of the regular season,” Presti said. “I think he has less game experience than he has NBA experience, if that makes sense. So, every opportunity he has to play, he’s going to improve and get better. I just think he has the potential to be a solid defender, in addition to being a dynamic offensive player.”

Mitchell, coming off of back-to-back injury-riddled seasons, could be on the cusp of having his most productive campaign yet. The 2024 second-round pick suffered a toe injury ahead of the Thunder’s 2025 championship run before cementing his place in Mark Daigneault’s rotation last season.

While defending some of the Thunder’s opponents’ biggest scoring threats in best-of-7 series against the Suns and the Lakers, he averaged 15.1 points, 4.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game across 11 playoff games.

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