From PlayStation to the NBA, Ajay Mitchell is following his dreams

After a delicate pre-season marred by a sprained ankle, Ajay Mitchell will begin his second NBA season tonight against the Rockets. For the occasion, the Ans native will receive his championship ring and see the Thunder raise their championship banner. The start of a dream career for the 23-year-old point guard/guard.

Hours before the start of this 2025/26 season, Basket USA was able to speak with the Belgian about his physical progress, the Thunder’s defensive intensity, his debut against NBA stars… and his desire to stay for the long haul.

How’s your ankle?

it’s better. Apparently, there was this little accident in Indiana, but nothing serious. That’s why we’re just preparing. Hopefully it will be good for the first match, we continue to work every day, but that is the goal.

Marc Daigneault said you look stronger and that will help you on defense. Was it a team instruction for better matchmaking or a personal approach?

Both. From a personal point of view, that has always been my goal. The first season in the NBA, you realize the strength of certain players and for me that was necessarily the goal. And for the team, because at the end of the season we talked about it and it’s something they really wanted me to work on.

“There are physical beasts in almost every team, but one of the first ones I realized was really different was Giannis”

How do we work on physical strengthening?

There is a program. Obviously you have to be intelligent, it’s not just about mass gain. Yes, there is mass gain, but primarily a lot of strengthening work, getting stronger on your supports, on your feet and generally stronger. It was a pretty intense four weeks of work and preparation. It went really well so it was great to see the progress.

Who are the players who physically impressed you the most in the NBA?

Physical beasts, they’re in almost every team, but one of the first ones I realized was really different was Giannis, because you have to defend with a few people on him and he’ll still try to get into the racket, so I think that was the first shock for me.

Last year, the Thunder were very aggressive on defense, to the point where some teams complained that the refs were letting a lot of things go. Now the Celtics and Nuggets are talking about taking inspiration from it. Do you expect to be copied, and perhaps suffer the treatment you received?

We try to prepare for everything. Obviously, we expected teams to copy this style a bit and we try to be aggressive in defense but without mistakes. After that, the NBA is a physical sport, the referees allow a lot of play and that’s important because every contact is not a foul. It has to be physical, and that’s the way we train, so we’re ready for that, when teams play aggressively, and that’s not something we focus on. We work on it every day, it’s in our system.

“Having a guy like Alex Caruso come in really helped us”

You had a special style of defense, sometimes very risky, with constant but well-compensated rotations. We know that there is little training in the NBA, so how is such a system set up?

The most important aspect is communication. Having a guy like Alex Caruso come in really helped us from that point of view. Everyone talks defensively, everyone communicates and then we try to solve every problem. We know it won’t be perfect every time, but we are very close to the field and it helps us on the field to know that everyone will help each other. We are able to react very quickly and communicate about every possession. These things are very important to us.

Is Alex Caruso a model of self-sacrifice for the group? How did you feel about the tactical choice in Game 7 against the Nuggets, where he defended Jokic despite the size gap?

He is a role model and it really sent a message to the team. It was a really impressive tactical choice and the job he was able to do on Nikola Jokic was amazing, but, again, it just shows a defender that he is, he’s been in the NBA for years and to see him do that against Nikola Jokic was crazy.

First NBA season: title, parade, ring, banner…

It’s a childhood dream. Just getting into the NBA was a dream for me, but to experience the season we had, to win the title… For sure it was amazing, a childhood dream, but it’s important for us to turn the page and we did it very quickly. As soon as we came back at the beginning of September, it was: “Okay, it’s time to forget. We got the most out of it, but we have a new season ahead of us. Everything will be different.

Were you surprised to find your place so quickly in a team that was already well established?

I wouldn’t say I was surprised because at the draft, in my head, I had a lot to prove and my goal was to go into this first year without telling myself that I have to play so many minutes or do this or that… I told myself that now that I’m there, I want to have the longest career possible and I have to put my head down and work. That was really the most important thing to me.

“The first time you play against Stephen Curry, of course it’s a little weird because Steph Curry, LeBron James, these are players I played with on PlayStation”

A contract extension signed this summer shows that the franchise believes in you. Do you see it as a confirmation of your integration into the project of Sam Presti and Marc Daigneault?

When you sign a contract, you’re obviously very happy, but just seeing the trust they have in me makes it even more motivating to give everything for this team, to somehow give back what they’ve given me.

It is very difficult to retain the NBA title. No one has done that since the Warriors. Have you identified areas for improvement? And mentally, how do we turn the page?

The coach is doing a really amazing job and Thunder has always been focused on development, on improving every day. We did this last year and it won’t change. This is what we want to continue to do and for us the most important state of mind, with leaders who always want more.

Any personal goals for this season?

I’ve never set goals for myself in terms of stats or playing time. My goal is to have a long career and to prove that I have the level to stay here for many years.

Did you have a “Welcome to the NBA” moment?

There were several of them. The first was in the pre-season, at the beginning of September, because we started playing and I realized that everyone is very strong. It was really a shock for me when I saw that every player managed to score 20 points. Then I told myself that it won’t be easy. We cannot tell ourselves that by coming to the NBA we have done the hardest part and that it will be easy. Obviously, when you play against Stephen Curry for the first time, it’s definitely a little weird, because Steph Curry, LeBron James, these are players I’ve played with on PlayStation. So facing them in real life was a shock – but a good shock. It was especially positive to say that we have reached this point.

How to read statistics? MJ = matches played; Min = Minute; Shots = Shots Successful / Shots Attempted; 3 points = 3 points / 3 points in an attempt; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive jump; Tot = Total number of jumps; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal mistakes; Int = intercepts; Bp = lost balls; Ct: Against; Points = Points.