Ajay Mitchell name drops 3 teammates who deserve the flowers for his breakout season

Oklahoma. and home – Oklahoma City Thunder sophomore guard Ajay Mitchell thanked three of his teammates for the advice and guidance that led to his regular season breakthrough. Lou Dort’s four 3-pointers helped the Thunder win. However, Dort also helped Mitchell come off the bench in a prominent role for head coach Mark Daigne.

Mitchell mentioned Dort as one of three Thunders players who helped shape him into a better defender when discussing what led to such an impressive start to his sophomore season.

“I think the biggest thing is just having a year under you, knowing the game a little bit more and then learning from your teammates,” Mitchell said. “We’ve got guys like Lue, (Cason), Caruso; those guys are great defenders and I get to be around them every day, see what they do, last year when I was hurt, seeing how they affected the game, that really helped me come out this year and kind of figure out a way to be impactful on that end.”

Mitchell finished with 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting and went a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line. He also finished with six assists, two steals and one block. With Dort back in the lineup, Mitchell has anchored the Thunder’s second unit with consistent production. He is averaging 16.1 points, 3.8 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

That’s a huge jump from the 6.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 28.2 minutes per game that Ajay Mitchell averaged during his rookie season with the Thunder. It will be fascinating to see what steps Ajayi continues to make in his second campaign.

Lou Dort shares powerful insight into Thunder’s confidence

After defeating the kings, Thunder’s Lou Dort discussed his team’s confidence was the catalyst for his 15-1 start to the regular season. For Dort, the magnitude of the Thunder’s focus is evident in the eyes of his teammates.

“We’re really comfortable and confident. I feel like that’s coming from a lot of guys, and that’s big,” Dort said. “Whenever you go to a game and you know that the whole team is confident and fearless – that’s big. And every time, in the locker room, before the game, you see it in everyone’s eyes.”

The Thunder are on a seven-game winning streak.