Ajay Mitchell stepped up in Oklahoma City’s time of need. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder took on the Phoenix Suns on Monday night in the second leg of a back-to-back series. OKC walked into this match with a lot up in the air, as the team has been riddled with injuries already so early in the season. Cason Wallace and Jalen Williams would now be lucky to come back at all this season, and Chet Holmgren was also hit with the injury bug for this game. 

With this skeleton crew, Oklahoma City would need not only a big game from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but the squad would need another superstar performance. Luckily for the Thunder, Ajay Mitchell took that as a challenge. 

The young guard got the starting nod today because of the injuries and took advantage of it from the get-go. Mitchell stayed on the attack for the entirety of the game, and it led to him being the game’s leading scorer, as he put up 30 points, a new career high for the third-year player. Mitchell also grabbed two rebounds and had five assists, truly leaving his mark on the game. 

It was clear that Mitchell was one of the biggest game changers on the floor, as he had a +18 net rating for OKC, the largest of the game. Mitchell had been expected to make a big leap this season, but nobody could have expected this big of an advancement from the young star. 

However, while the Thunder can celebrate how well Mitchell did, it is possible that OKC will need this to become a regular performance given how the team’s roster is shaping up. 

With both Wallace and Williams out for at least most of the season, Mitchell will be required to step into a full-time starting role like he did tonight. He’ll also be called to help carry the scoring load that both of those players held, and won’t be looked at as just a rotational player, but will have to be looked at as a star. 

This is a lot of pressure ot put on a third-year player, but Mitchell is continuing to show that he can handle the task, and he handled it well Monday night. However, the real test will be if he can continue this throughout the whole season. But if the rising star can continue to produce these types of stellar performances, then the Thunder’s championship hopes might not be dead quite yet.