With everything clinched for playoff seeding, the Oklahoma City Thunder are resting most of their regular rotation players over the final two games. One player not on in the injury report is rookie guard Ajay Mitchell.
Mitchell seems poised to make his return to the lineup after a three-month absence. The 6-foot-5 rookie has been out since early January due to a turf toe injury.
Mitchell was a second-round pick at the 2024 NBA Draft out of UC Santa Barbara. The combo guard started his career on a two-way contract. After playing in the Thunder's first 34 games, and averaging 16.5 minutes per game, Mitchell's signed a standard NBA deal.
In those 34 games, Mitchell averaged 6.4 points on 50.6% shooting. That included 43.1% from behind the arc. The rookie guard isn't expected to be a part of Oklahoma City's playoff rotation, but he'll get some valuable minutes over the final weekend of the season.