Watch: Ajay Mitchell sharpens outside jumper in NBA offseason workout

The calendar has flipped to September. Which means the NBA offseason is in its final weeks. The 2026-27 regular season is right around the corner. Forecasting how things could play out, the Oklahoma City Thunder are universally viewed as a top-two title contender. The Thunder fell short in their bac

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Nov 26, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell (25) gestures to his team during a play against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The calendar has flipped to September. Which means the NBA offseason is in its final weeks. The 2026-27 regular season is right around the corner. Forecasting how things could play out, the Oklahoma City Thunder are universally viewed as a top-two title contender.

The Thunder fell short in their back-to-back ambitions this past year. That said, they're set up well to bring home a second Larry O'Brien trophy in three years. Even with several role player departures, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren will keep OKC in the title picture for the foreseeable future.

Someone who could take an even larger leap is Ajay Mitchell. The 24-year-old had a second-year breakout last season. He upped his averages to 13.6 points, 3.6 assists

and 3.3 rebounds. He cemented his spot as OKC's Sixth Man. Considering he's now a household name, he should be at the forefront of that award race.

Alas, injuries plagued Mitchell. He only played in 57 regular-season games. And then his NBA playoff journey was cut short as he missed the final four games of the 2026 Western Conference Finals with a soleus strain. The injury was so brutal that it took him until around July to finally get cleared to return. Meaning he would've missed the entire 2026 NBA Finals.

With the Thunder moving on from Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins, Mitchell is primed to get even more opportunities. Expect him to soak up plenty of the vacant scoring possessions that the offseason departures have left behind. To get ready for that upscale in role, he's spent the offseason getting ready.

Mitchell recently posted a social media highlight video. Mostly working on his outside jumper, it will be interesting to see if he takes more jumpers as a way to stay healthy. The drive-heavy scorer has a blue-collar-esque style of play to help him be a legitimate NBA player. The cost, though, has been missed time. Maybe relying more on his pull-up jumper is a way to fix that.

The Thunder are going through a change among the complementary pieces. Mitchell is part of that. We're about to find out just how much more he can add to his plate. He's gone from a nice developmental story to a critical part of OKC's championship aspirations.