Ajay Mitchell being placed at No. 74 in The Ringer's NBA Top 100 is the kind of ranking that tells you two things at once: he has clearly made an impression, and the league still has not quite worked out how much trouble he might become for everyone else.
That is the interesting tension here. Mitchell is not being sold as a franchise centerpiece or a headline-grabbing star. He is being framed as a bench scorer inside one of the deepest Oklahoma City setups in the NBA, which is exactly why this ranking matters. In a league that loves to obsess over the obvious names, Mitchell is the sort of player who can become a real problem simply by being too good to ignore.
Why No. 74 matters
The Ringer’s preseason question was blunt enough: is Mitchell the best bench scorer in the NBA? That is not a throwaway compliment. It is a sign that his value is being measured against a very specific standard, one that goes beyond energy and beyond promise. Bench scoring is supposed to be useful. Mitchell is being discussed as potentially decisive.
At No. 74, he lands in the middle of a leaguewide top-100 list, which is a perfectly sensible place for a player with upside and a growing role. It also tells you something about how Oklahoma City is viewed. This is not a roster built around one or two obvious stars and a lot of filler. It is deep enough that a player like Mitchell can be mentioned in serious conversations without anyone needing to stretch the imagination.
The real test is opportunity
The catch, of course, is that talent and opportunity are not the same thing. Mitchell’s path upward depends on whether Oklahoma City gives him more on-ball responsibility, and whether the rotation opens up in a way that lets him do more than just provide scoring in bursts.
That is where the intrigue lies. If certain teammates are no longer in the rotation or lineup, Mitchell’s role could expand quickly. If that happens, No. 74 may start looking conservative rather than generous. A player who is already being talked about in Sixth Man of the Year terms does not usually stay in the background for long.
And that is the point. The ranking is not just a pat on the back. It is a warning shot to the rest of the league. Mitchell has gone from useful piece to legitimate problem, and Oklahoma City may not be able to keep him in the shadows much longer.
