NBA rookie Ajayi is proving to be the real deal for Oklahoma Thunder

 Nigeria-born NBA rookie Mitchell Ajayi is proving to be a real deal for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

 Entering the 2024-25 campaign, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s prominent offseason moves included trading for Alex Caruso and signing Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency. Both were set to be starting-calibre players who could take OKC to a new level.

The team also added new talent in the 2024 NBA Draft, but those additions didn’t seem all that significant for the Thunder even after selecting three new rookies. That’s primarily since Oklahoma City spent its lottery pick (via the Houston Rockets) on Nikola Topic (No. 12 overall), who entered the draft with a known knee injury that would sideline him for the entire 2024-25 season.

From there, the Thunder made a series of trades to land Dillon Jones (No. 26 overall) and Mitchell Ajayi (No. 38 overall).

While both Jones and Ajayi entered the NBA with more experience than most rookies given their age and years played at the collegiate level, it seemed fairly unlikely that either would be a primary contributor given how deep the Thunder is.

But through nine games, Ajayi has been a very important piece. He’s playing legitimate rotation minutes and has been phenomenal in most of the possessions he has been on the floor.

The 22-year-old has played in every game thus far for OKC, notching the ninth most minutes on the team at 125 — just 48 fewer than Alex Caruso.

Ajayi has produced 4.8 points, 2.0 assists, 1.6 rebounds and 0.9 steals in 13.9 minutes per game this season. Although on low volume, he’s converted on 55.6% of his triples and 54.2% of his shots inside the arc. He ranks in the top 20 among rookies in total points and is fifth in cumulative assists.

Most importantly, Ajayi leads all rookies in box plus/minus as a +36 this season.

As impressive as that is for a player who was selected in the second round, Ajayi’s impact goes well beyond the box score. He plays with a chip on his shoulder and matches the intensity and effort of the more prominent players on the roster, especially on the defensive end. He has no problem picking up his assignment full court or fighting through screens and playing physically. Offensively, he’s shown impressive assertiveness and plays with incredible confidence and aggressiveness.