Have The OKC Thunder Found The Next James Harden With Ajay Mitchell?
Ajay Mitchell has been the talk of the town for Thunder fans as he continues to break out in his sophomore season and reminds me of another former OKC 6th man.
I did a deep dive into what makes Ajay so special, how he stacks up as a player to someone like James Harden, whether he can reach the heights the beard once did on the Thunder, and hearing from Ajay’s coach and teammates talked to Ajay’s coach and teammates about his rise to start this season.
TIMESTAMPS:
Intro: (0:00)
How Harden And Ajay Compare: (0:17)
Where Shai Has Seen Ajay Grow: (1:01)
Fantastic Finisher: (1:32)
Calculated Cutter: (2:33)
Forcing Fouls:(2:59)
3-Point Spacing:(3:36)
Killing On Closeouts:(4:20)
Playmaking and Passing:(5:04)
2 Man Game With Hartenstein:(5:34)
Weaponizing His Eyes: (5:49)
The Context Of Added Opportunities: (6:24)
Chet On Ajay Stepping Up: (6:52)
Developing On Defense: (7:09)
Mark On Ajay’s Defensive Growth: (7:49)
Can He Be The Next Harden For The Thunder?: (8:40)
Ajay Isn’t Satisfied: (9:28)
What Do You Think?: (10:03)
Close: (10:40)
28 Comments
He reminds me of a young Deron Williams in the way he moves not just because they are both light skinned with a beard if he improves that 3 point shot I believe his final form will be so similar to a DWill
Thanks for watching and I hope you all enjoyed this breakdown! Also if you haven't checked it out already, here is a video I made about Ajay midway through last season that I think has aged pretty well! https://youtu.be/fyh9iUs4qzs?si=sMdHGToen2hs21CT
The versatility of the roster now is insane. Outside of SGA, Chet and Dub we can go I Hart & Dort for some perimeter defense and rim protection or Dort & Caruso if the other team is small and has a lot of guard and wing talent. But if we're facing a tough defensive team we can throw AJ and Wiggins in the starting 5 and just hammer them with offense. This is the deepest roster I've ever seen. Having AJ, Caruso, Wiggins, Joe and Wallace on the bench is just a joke. And we still have Topic and Sorber… and then there are guys like J Will, Kenrich Williams and Branden Carlson who are solid par for the course bench players that any competing team with a few extra mill to spend would love to have.
Your questions are always spot on. Rare in today’s interviews.
Don't forget that this guy is from a small country in Europe (Belgium) 🇧🇪 A bigg basketball player back in the days. He played on the highest level (first class) of basketball in Belgium with Team Hubo Limburg United. He is a great player in the NBA and deserves the Starters position with OKC. There's also another bigg player in de NBA from Belgium 🇧🇪 (Brussels) One of the best defenders now in the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers Toumani Camara. Watch these guys. There gonna be better and bigger as a player in the NBA! Keep up the good work. 🏀👍🙏👏
James Harden 4.0…layups are np !
No, they gave that guy away…his name is Giddey. In Harden's last year in okc he played 31 minutes per game and averaged17/4/4. In Giddey's 2nd yr. he also played 31 minutes and averaged 17/8/6. That's right, he put up better numbers than Harden did and that's why I knew he was going to be incredible and why i hated the trade. I obviously was 100% spot on correct and everybody can see that now. Mitchell has a chance to be REALLY good though. It's incredible what he's doing.
Wow absolute blasphemy
Ajay a close second for 6moty tho. Shortly behind jerami grant.
Ajay isn't chasing money like Harden did. He's hunting rings.
Did you say Harden is a …. solid defender?
AJ's name will be bigger or as big as Harden by the end of his career. Mitchell better than Harden, to me
Anything bout OKC or the Thunder and I'm all in! New Subscriber Alert! O CITY OR NO CITY!
The "Yes James Harden used to play defense on the Thunder" got me already
Carlson as a "poor man's Chet" is such a luxury. Another 7fter that can guard the rim a little, finish from the dunker spot, and threaten from the 3? C'mon now
Also feels like every guard has incorporated JDub's one-handed gather to layup
This guy plays like #20 of spurs on the 20's era
Sam Presti can see talent while blindfolded!!! Also Mark Daignault is the under the radar all star of this team. He's always pushing his guys while always complementing them on how good they are and can be.
Presti's phone is probably ringing off the hook of teams offering 2-3 1st Round picks for Ajay or Wiggins.
I feel if Ajay can learn the hip swivel, he'll open up a bit more space, like Steve Nash. Really great potential!
I think ajay’s aggression, confidence, and decisiveness for how new he is has been the most impressive thing. so many players when they’re new to the league are indecisive, but not our guy ajay. It’s been the Ajay show. Keep running it!
Obviously I miss watching Lu and Jdub and I hope they get well and come back soon. I see so many ppl hating on guys on other teams when they’re hurt like AD. i guess they forget that they have a whole bench of guys on the team who could step up. I appreciate how the thunder and thunder fans welcome our bench guys to step up and don’t make excuses and use it as an opportunity for team development.
Damn it, I miss Schroder and Tre Mann 😆😮💨⛈️💙
Great player🏀 😂😂😂😂😂❤
His game is similar to Tony Parker. AJ is a beast!
can you dont insult Ajay Mitchell? Harden is a top playoff choker, system error404 best
I would like to know what make you think he couldn't be a 36 pts a game scorer in the future ..I think he can he's already half way there.
No Harden cant play defense
God I hope not. Had Harden just been average in OKC final against Miami they win the title. He was horrible. In the playoffs he's always horrible. Why would anyone want a Harden type player again. Please no.