Absolutely bullying his way around Jerami Grant, Ajay Mitchell went with the crossover to go left. As he went with the awkwardly-angled driving layup, the 24-year-old capped off his career night with a blue-collar and-one bucket. It showed off both his finesse and raw strength.
The Oklahoma City Thunder looked their best since the Post-D.C.C. (Dub, Chet, Caso) era started with a 124-97 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The butt-whooping was part of the 2026 NBA Cup West Group B stage.
Mitchell finished with 35 points on 14-of-20 shooting, five assists and one rebound. He shot 4-of-7 from 3 and went 3-of-5 on free throws.
Not to get too ahead of things, but if the Thunder hope to continue their streak of two NBA All-Star players, I think we've found
the best candidate. Not even two weeks ago, Mitchell had his first 30-ball of his career. Now, he's easily topped that again here. He completely took apart Memphis' defense and added to OKC's historic one-sided streak against the Grizzlies.
There were two spots that Mitchell completely dominated on the court — in the paint and outside the perimeter. The former shouldn't be a surprise. His drive-heavy scoring attack has turned him from a second-round two-way rookie to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's Dick Grayson. But the outside jumper? That has finally turned a corner after an icy start to the year.
"I was just trying to be aggressive, honestly. Seeing what the defense gives us and just try to play the game. That's really it," Mitchell said. "Every night is going to be different. I just go into every game with the same mindset. Just going out there and playing and not worrying about anything else."
As the Thunder put up some hilarious scoreboard numbers, Mitchell had 21 points in the first half. Nobody on the Grizzlies could stay in front of him. Poor Ty Jerome had his subpar defense exposed at the NBA Cup level. For good measure, he added 14 points to his total in a drama-free second half that should've been played on a running clock. Not only did he cross 30 points again, but he flirted with 40 in his best scoring output yet.
Mitchell was in the zone. All night. He has the right combination of strength and finesse. He powered through several smaller defenders to get to the rim. When that didn't work, he tried his luck with a bunch of circus shots that feathered through. The outside jumpers were just straight-up insulting. It's been a minute since OKC completely dominated another team like this from tip-off to the final buzzer, but it's found its footing with this new group.
Since Mitchell was jettisoned from Sixth Man to second go-to scorer, he's stepped up to the plate. He's turned into a 20-point scorer. With very few lulls. Consistency is what separates a high-end role player from a certified top star. Right now, we're seeing him take that next step in his improbable developmental arc.
"Just staying confident no matter what. I know the amount of work I put in. When I go out there and it's not falling, I'm not worried," Mitchell said. "I'm really focused on just helping this team win. Every possession matters. For me, it's just moving on really quick to the next one. No matter shots are going in or not. That's really been my mindset these past two years. Trying to keep it like that."
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Ajay Mitchell has career-best 35 points as Thunder get easy win over Grizzlies
