News: 2 hours agoIn an appearance on ESPN.com on Tuesday, Mitchell relayed that he is "close to being back to 100 [percent]" in his recovery from a right calf strain.
Spin: Mitchell was forced to miss the final four games of the Western Conference Finals against San Antonio after straining his right calf in Game 3. The 2024 second-rounder was a key piece to the Thunder's rotation and even started in seven of 11 playoff games. In his absence, Oklahoma City lost three of the next four WCF games, including Game 7 that sent San Antonio to the NBA Finals against New York. Mitchell has primarily come off the bench in his first two years in the NBA, but given his strong postseason play, it's possible that he supplants Luguentz Dort for a spot in the starting backcourt next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the 2026-27 campaign.