Ajay Mitchell earns Jalen Brunson’s Bill Simmons comparison after hot start

As Oklahoma City Thunder‘s Ajay Mitchell continues his eye-opening start in the 2025-26 regular season, he drew early attention for the MVP award and comparisons to the New York Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson. The Ringer’s Bill Simmons see young Brunson in Mitchell. Reflecting on Brunson’s early years with the Dallas Mavericks, could we see a similar story in Ajayi’s future?

Brunson, who went from being Luke Doncic’s backup to playing alongside him in the Mavericks’ backcourt, blossomed into someone the Knicks believed would be the focal point of their offense, and Jaylen became an All-Star in his second season in New York.

Simmons wonders if we’re seeing history repeat itself with Mitchell and the Thunder, as discussed on the Bill Simmons Podcast.

“The way he plays reminds me a little bit of when Brunson was in Dallas,” Simmons said. “Brunson had a lot of time on a Dallas team where you’d watch him and wonder, is this guy really good or am I crazy? Could this guy be the starting point guard on a really good team, or am I crazy? And you just watch him. He was like this finished product, and he was kind of this luxury on the sidelines for the Mavs.”

“And I’m just wondering, with Mitchell, I’m sure these other GMs are looking at this Thunder team, because there’s no way they’re going to be able to pay all these guys.”

The Thunder will have to make some tough decisions sometime down the road.

“They’ll be able to pay Cason Wallace $30 million a year. They won’t be able to pay Mitchell in a few years,” Simmons added. “So I’m sure all these other teams have to be sweepers, like, could we build an offense around Ajay Mitchell? It seems absurd, but who knows? The Brunson thing seemed absurd.”

Ajay Mitchell is rising to become an elite defender for the Thunder

Ever since Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell stole the headlines in the middle of Summer League for his exponential growth, he did not stop.

“I didn’t know he could shoot the ball this effectively from deep,” Legler said. “The guy does everything from the perimeter. He’s got the burst to accelerate past you. He’s got an incredibly strong base.”

“He’s incredibly strong, and by the way, Ajay Mitchell is the second-highest rated individual defender in the NBA. Guys are taking 30 percent of the shots against him that he contests.”

Mitchell is averaging 16.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals this season.