Ajay Mitchell

About

Ajay Mitchell (born 25 June 2002) is a Belgian professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. Mitchell was selected with the 38th overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NBA draft by the New York Knicks, but was immediately traded to the Thunder on draft night. During his rookie season with the Thunder, Mitchell won his first NBA championship in the 2025 NBA finals. He has also played for the Belgium national team.

Mitchell grew up in Ans, Belgium. At age 17, he moved to France for a period of a few months, where he played thirteen games in the under-18 team of Nanterre 92 along with Victor Wembanyama. He began playing for Limburg United’s youth team in 2019 and made two appearances with the senior team in the Pro Basketball League during the 2019–20 season.
Mitchell played solely with the senior team during the 2020–21 season while maintaining his amateur status. After the season, he committed to playing college basketball for UC Santa Barbara.

Mitchell played in 27 games during his freshman season and was…