Browsing: Ajay

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  André SnellingsNov 12, 2025, 01:35 PM ET

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  Dr. André Snellings is a senior writer for men’s and women’s fantasy basketball and sports betting at ESPN. André has a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Michigan. He joined ESPN in 2017 after a 16-year career as a neural engineer, during which time he was also a writer and analyst for Rotowire.

According to ESPN BET, Thunder point guard Ajay Mitchell (+750) has the second-shortest odds to win Sixth Man of the Year, behind the Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. (+425) and ahead of Quentin Grimes (+1000) of the Knicks. Mitchell was not on the radar when the season began, but his stellar play in the first month of the season has him among the early-season favorites for the award.

Should he be?

And is there value in betting Mitchell for Sixth Man of the Year?

Let’s explore.

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Through his first 12 games, Mitchell has established himself as a plus-scorer (17.2 PPG), a solid all-around contributor (3.9 RPG, 3.9 APG) and a strong 3-and-D threat (1.8 SPG, 1.3 3PG) in 28.3 MPG, mainly off the bench. He moved into the starting lineup last week with Aaron Wiggins joining Jalen Williams, Lu Dort, Nikola Topic and Kenrich Williams on the injured list, and in his first four starts he upped his numbers to 19.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 4.8 APG, 2.0 SPG and 1.5 3PG in 31.3 MPG.

Using the ESPN Fantasy Basketball scoring system as a one-number metric of player production, Mitchell is currently averaging 33.8 fantasy PPG on the season. That is better than last season’s Sixth Man of the Year, Payton Pritchard, who averaged 29.7 FPPG. In fact, if you go back over the last decade of Sixth Man of the Year winners, only Lou Williams in 2018 (34.5) had a higher fantasy scoring average than Mitchell’s 33.8. So, historically speaking, Mitchell is clearly producing enough to be worthy of the award if he can maintain his pace for the season.

But that leads to the first of two main questions: Will he maintain this pace?

Part of the reason Mitchell has had such a large role this season is because of the plethora of injuries to the Thunder’s perimeter players. Williams, in particular, is a young All-Star who, when he returns, will eat up a large chunk of minutes and production. He is expected to return sometime this month. Dort is the other starting wing, and both Wiggins and Williams typically play significant minutes off the bench.

When you add in the Thunder’s healthy perimeter players, including MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, NBA steals leader Cason Wallace, two-time All-Defensive Team selection Alex Caruso and 3-point marksman Isaiah Joe, it gets very difficult to see how Mitchell will continue to get anywhere near the minutes and role he’d need to continue his current pace once everyone is healthy.

The other main question of interest is: Are there are any other Sixth Man candidates also producing at or near the level of Mitchell’s current pace?

The obvious place to look is Jaquez — the frontrunner according to ESPN BET — who is averaging 17.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG and 5.2 APG, which contribute to his 38.0 FPPG.

Jaquez is also part of a deep perimeter rotation for the Heat, but right now only Tyler Herro is expected to return to the rotation after an injury absence, and he may not return until the end of 2025. Plus, Jaquez has the size to play some power forward, in addition to shooting guard and small forward, which should help him maintain his minutes and role even once Herro is back.

Bottom line: Mitchell is worth a flyer, but Jaquez is the better bet

Mitchell (+750) is currently playing well enough to win the Sixth Man of the Year Award if he can maintain over the course of the season. But there are questions as to whether his minutes and role will remain as large once the Thunder get healthy, which seems to be on the horizon. And there are other candidates for the award, led by current frontrunner Jaquez, that are producing more in the short term and/or also have less competition for minutes on their current teams.

As such, I would say there is some value in betting Mitchell to win the award at current odds, but there is more value in betting on Jaquez. The NBA season is very long and injuries are an unfortunate part of the game, so this story could change many times over the next several months. While I might take some flyers on Mitchell, at present I would be more likely to bet on Jaquez.

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  André SnellingsNov 10, 2025, 12:17 PM ET

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  Dr. André Snellings is a senior writer for men’s and women’s fantasy basketball and sports betting at ESPN. André has a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Michigan. He joined ESPN in 2017 after a 16-year career as a neural engineer, during which time he was also a writer and analyst for Rotowire.

The NBA season is moving fast, and we are moving right along with it to keep you up to date on the players that are playing themselves onto the fantasy radar.

Young players, in particular, find that switch and all of a sudden go from rotation guy to impact performer at any given moment.

Let’s delve deeper to identify a group of lightly rostered players that deserve more attention and can help your fantasy squads.

Resources: Sign up and play | Rankings | Adds/Drops | Scoring leaders | Player Rater | Mock draft lobby | Depth charts | Schedule | Injuries

Point guard

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Ajay Mitchell, PG, Oklahoma City Thunder (49.1% rostered in ESPN leagues): Mitchell continues to quietly produce for the Thunder as they deal with injuries on the perimeter. Jalen Williams is still out, and last week Aaron Wiggins joined him on the sidelines. This has left consistent space for Mitchell to produce. He’s a nightly upper-teens scorer, contributes about seven combined rebounds and assists, and is a plus in both steals and 3-pointers while he holds onto this role.

Davion Mitchell, PG, Miami Heat (33.9%): Mitchell is turning in a variation of the traditional 3-and-D role, instead more of a D-and-D threat … defense and distribution. Mitchell has at least three steals in three of his past four games. In that same stretch, he also has three games with at least eight assists. As a streamer, he has low double-double potential with the upside to grab a handful of steals on a nightly basis, such as the 11 points, 8 assists and 5 steals he notched in his last outing on Saturday.

Shooting guard

Editor’s Picks

2 Related

Ayo Dosunmu, SG, Chicago Bulls (12.8%): Dosunmu missed a couple of games last week with a quad injury, but he had already proven himself worthy of a roster spot in most fantasy leagues with the role he currently holds for the Bulls. With Coby White still sidelined, Dosunmu is a consistent upper-teens scorer with good shooting percentages that knocks down a couple of treys and contributes a few boards and assists per night.

Cason Wallace, SG, Oklahoma City Thunder (24.0%): Wallace tops the league in steals in the early going of this NBA season, trying to follow in the footsteps of last season’s breakout swiper Dyson Daniels. Wallace only has low double-digit scoring upside, but he contributes positively to rebounds, assists and 3-pointers in addition to the three or so steals a night that make him so valuable in category leagues.

Small forward

Ryan Dunn, SF, Phoenix Suns (8.8%): Dunn is a role player for the Suns, and he could play the same role for your fantasy squad. After starting the first eight games of the season, Dunn moved to the bench when Jalen Green returned from injury last Thursday. But coming off the bench didn’t materially change his minutes, role or production, and now Green is out again for at least a month after aggravating a right hamstring injury. Dunn’s a low double-digit scoring 3-and-D wing that contributes positively to rebounds, steals and 3s and could be worth a fantasy hoops roster spot in deeper leagues.

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Ryan Dunn rocks the rim with dunk

Ryan Dunn throws down big dunk vs. LA Clippers

Zaccharie Risacher, SF, Atlanta Risacher (15.9%): Risacher, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft, has a window to establish a bigger role for the Hawks with Trae Young sidelined. He showed what he can do when his shot is going down last Wednesday with 21 points in 26 minutes. Risacher needs to build some consistency, but he has started every game of his sophomore season and can contribute in 3-pointers and steals when he is fully engaged.

Power forward

Jake LaRavia, PF, Los Angeles Lakers (32.6%): LaRavia burst onto the scene with two 25-plus point scoring efforts in a three-game span early last week. He isn’t that type of scorer on a regular basis, in part because the Lakers feature so many high-volume scoring threats, but LaRavia contributes on the glass, from 3-point range and even with steals in addition to scoring. He could be worth a roster spot in deep fantasy leagues and is, at the least, a regular streaming option with elite upside on any given night.

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Jake LaRavia with the and-1 bucket

Jake LaRavia with the and-1 bucket

Center

Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, Charlotte Hornets (38.2%):Kalkbrenner continues to quietly prove himself worthy of not just being rostered, but potentially earning a starting role in fantasy leagues. The rookie was a four-time Defensive Player of the Year in the Big East and the 2025 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year for NCAA basketball. He is showing those defensive skills in the NBA, routinely notching between four and eight combined blocks and steals a night. He is also a low double-double threat, and the combo makes him rosterable in points leagues, and a potential every-night starter in category leagues.

Zach Edey, C, Memphis Grizzlies (19.2%): Edey is nearing a return to the court after having ankle surgery this offseason. He rehabbed in the G League, but still as to play himself up to full NBA shape. Edey was a nightly low double-double threat as a rookie that also combined for almost two steals/blocks per game. He has the potential to build on that as a sophomore, and if he does he is worth a roster spot in most fantasy leagues.

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