NBA Future Watch: Davion Mitchell Basketball Cards, Sacramento Kings – Davion Mitchell stands apart from many of the players regularly featured in this space in terms of his trajectory. Many players drafted in the NBA’s Top 10 only needed one year in college to prove their worth at the pro level. In contrast, Mitchell failed to start even one game in a thoroughly forgettable freshman season – only to move onto a second program and lead them to a national championship three years later.
The rough start in college was not foreshadowed in high school, as Mitchell averaged 24.2 and 23.8 PPG in his junior and senior seasons, respectively. He then led his team to a Georgia state championship in the Class 4A Division. Mitchell was highly recruited as a consensus four-star prospect and committed to Auburn for the 2017-18 season.
Coming in behind Jared Harper, who established himself as the Tigers’ point guard the previous year, Mitchell surprisingly ended up buried on the bench with little hope of changing the circumstances at Auburn. As such, a change of scenery was decided, with Baylor the next destination.
A redshirt year filled with preparation and film study led to vastly increased results, as Mitchell pocketed Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honors, but the COVID-19 pandemic kept him out of the postseason. Mitchell’s long-awaited chance to shine on the March stage came in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, leading Baylor to the national championship along with tallying Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, NABC Defensive Player of the Year and Lefty Driesell Award honors. The breakthrough season capped three years of dramatic improvement in various categories: PPG (from 3.7 to 9.9 to 14.0), APG (1.9 to 3.8 to 5.5), SPG (0.5 to 1.5 to 1.9) and 3% (.288 to .324 to .447).
Selected by Sacramento with the ninth pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Mitchell enters a crowded backcourt like the one that he encountered at Auburn. But this time, what Mitchell brings with him is a reputation as a top defensive stopper, an improved shot, and a track record for tremendous leadership. With increased improvement as a shooter and a finisher around the rim, even with stars like De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, and Tyrese Haliburton in front of him, Mitchell can become the kind of player that nobody can relegate to the bench ever again.
NBA Future Watch: Davion Mitchell Basketball Cards, Sacramento Kings – Stats
| Totals | Shooting | Per Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Age | College | G | MP | FG | FGA | 3P | 3PA | FT | FTA | ORB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | FG% | 3P% | FT% | MP | PTS | TRB | AST |
| 2017-18 | 19 | AUBURN | 34 | 582 | 45 | 105 | 15 | 52 | 21 | 31 | 9 | 39 | 63 | 18 | 1 | 38 | 73 | 126 | .429 | .288 | .677 | 17.1 | 3.7 | 1.1 | 1.9 |
| 2019-20 | 21 | BAYLOR | 30 | 972 | 105 | 257 | 34 | 105 | 53 | 80 | 10 | 81 | 114 | 44 | 11 | 67 | 82 | 297 | .409 | .324 | .663 | 32.4 | 9.9 | 2.7 | 3.8 |
| 2020-21 | 22 | BAYLOR | 30 | 991 | 158 | 309 | 63 | 141 | 41 | 64 | 14 | 80 | 165 | 57 | 11 | 73 | 71 | 420 | .511 | .447 | .641 | 33.0 | 14.0 | 2.7 | 5.5 |
| Career | 94 | 2545 | 308 | 671 | 112 | 298 | 115 | 175 | 33 | 200 | 342 | 119 | 23 | 178 | 226 | 843 | .459 | .376 | .657 | 27.1 | 9.0 | 2.1 | 3.6 | ||
NBA Future Watch: Davion Mitchell Basketball Cards, Sacramento Kings – More Resources
- Secondary Market Pricing – Davion Mitchell
- NBA.com Player Profile – Davion Mitchell
- Davion Mitchell on Twitter
- Panini Chronicles Draft Picks
- Onyx Vintage Basketball
- Donruss Optic Fast Break NBA
NBA Future Watch: Davion Mitchell Basketball Cards, Sacramento Kings – Image Gallery
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