One of the surprises of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s season was rookie guard Ajay Mitchell. The second-round prospect has been ready to play since the start and the Thunder have challenged him in all three contests so far.

In those minutes, Mitchell was an absolute asset on the court, with his offense setting the table and his defense being better than advertised. After practice, Mark Daigneault praised the rookie.

“He competes first and foremost, and he’s a really smart player offensively. Not only does he have good instincts, but he also understands everything that’s going on on the pitch, and at a very, very high level for a man.” As little experience as he has, he’s also improving very quickly, and When people show this kind of rapid improvement, it usually shows that they have a path worth exploring. The Thunder’s bench boss said this after practice on Tuesday.

Mitchell’s ability to be ready to play right from the start has helped strengthen the Oklahoma City Thunder, something Daigneault has consistently pointed out.

“Everyone has a different trajectory, we’re talking about (Ousmane Diengs) and (Ousmane Dieng) took a long time to get to the baseline physically, so that doesn’t make him better than anyone else, everyone has a different progression trajectory, but ( Ajay “Mitchell) has proven to be very prepared and ready to play right now and we appreciate that, we’re getting him out because we’re going to need him,” Daigneault said.

The Thunder’s next game is Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs on ESPN, where Mitchell will look to crack the rotation for the fourth straight game.