{"id":125601,"date":"2026-05-09T23:32:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T02:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/ajay-mitchell-thunders-breakout-player-carries-the-dreams-of-his-late-father\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T23:32:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T02:32:25","slug":"ajay-mitchell-thunders-breakout-player-carries-the-dreams-of-his-late-father","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/ajay-mitchell-thunders-breakout-player-carries-the-dreams-of-his-late-father\/","title":{"rendered":"Ajay Mitchell, Thunder\u2019s breakout player, carries the dreams of his late father"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

OKLAHOMA CITY \u2014 Deep into the night of Dec. 18, Ajay Mitchell\u2019s boyish smile broke.<\/p>\n

His composure grew fragile. Grief gnawed at him. Once the point guard retired from running offense that night and the adrenaline of an Oklahoma City Thunder win waned, he plopped down in a film session beside his teammates.<\/p>\n

Mitchell imagined what his father might\u2019ve said that night. The jokes, the affection.<\/p>\n

He yearned for the phone call, the ones they always shared, where his dad\u2019s Virginian twang crept through. He envisioned the charm behind his father\u2019s gentle voice. Tears blurred his vision and reddened his face.<\/p>\n

Inside the team\u2019s film room, Barry Mitchell\u2019s son wept.<\/p>\n

Ajay felt proud that he played, that he carried on, after the unexpected death of his father the night before<\/a>. Barry Mitchell would\u2019ve played. So, Ajay kept his dribble alive like he did any other night, fighting past pesky defenders, assuming his position as floor general.<\/p>\n

Sixteen points, seven rebounds and five assists later, he finally crumbled.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe would have wanted me to keep going,\u201d Ajay said. \u201cAnytime something would happen to him, if he was feeling sick or not great mentally at some point in his life, he would be like, \u2018Don\u2019t worry about me. Keep doing you. As long as you\u2019re good, I\u2019m good.\u2019 I wanted to honor him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know my dad would have said, \u2018Go out there and hoop. Go out there and play.\u2019 I don\u2019t want to let him down.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father didn\u2019t force basketball on him. He never confined him to gyms. Never compulsively coached him. Ajay adopted this obsession on his own while watching Barry, a hoops star in Belgium, voluntarily tracing his steps.<\/p>\n

The prospect of writing his own legend fed Ajay\u2019s ambition. An appetite to not just wrap an injury-riddled rookie campaign with an NBA title, but leave his imprint on a championship in Year 2. To craft a legacy that measured up to his old man.<\/p>\n

In one night, his season, his mission, took on more meaning. This season no longer belonged to him alone.<\/p>\n

It was Barry\u2019s swan song.<\/p>\n

Ajay entered the fall with strenuous demands. Asked to absorb more responsibility and help bear a title-contending offense on his 23-year-old shoulders. To withstand the pressure that falls on defending champions with his typical grace.<\/p>\n

An afterthought during his one season next to future San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama on a grassroots French U-18 team, then a reserved, slight guard for UC Santa Barbara, Mitchell developed a tendency to let his game sort things out. He let performances speak for him and games filter his emotions. Nothing prepared him to hold himself together after losing the man who inspired him to play.<\/p>\n

Game 3 of the Thunder\u2019s first-round series versus the Phoenix Suns marked Mitchell\u2019s first NBA playoff start. He hoisted 20 shots, a career high in field goal attempts and audacity.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s obviously not shy. That\u2019s a start,\u201d Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said after that April 25 game. \u201cWinners fail and losers hide. He wasn\u2019t hiding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two nights later, Mitchell finished a Game 4 win as a team-high plus-27, totaling 22 points and six assists on 16 shots. Tuesday night, Mitchell had 18 points, four assists and only one turnover in a win to start the Thunder\u2019s Western Conference semifinal<\/a> against the Los Angeles Lakers.<\/p>\n

Mitchell\u2019s more daring, more poised. He has matured game-to-game, suggesting he could supplement some of what the team missed as All-NBA wing Jalen Williams rehabbed a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cMentally, he\u2019s never shaken,\u201d reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. \u201cHe\u2019s never afraid of the moment. Ajay could be having the worst day ever, and you would never know. He\u2019s so solid.\u201d<\/p>\n

His teammates were with him on his worst day. They\u2019ve witnessed the resilience since. The months it took to face such loss and portray stability. The time involved in finding some semblance of peace. To find composure all over again.<\/p>\n

Every so often, Barry\u2019s words reverberate in his head. Ajay closes his eyes and sifts through them.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019d always say, \u2018You\u2019re gonna be you. You\u2019re not gonna be a second version of me,\u2019\u201d Ajay said. \u201cIt\u2019s finding that right balance of honoring my dad, but also becoming the player I am, not the player he was. You\u2019re kind of building your own legacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a dream of his to be an NBA player for as long as I could remember. Just trying to honor him in that way. I\u2019m living this dream for me, obviously, but also for him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Barry Mitchell made it known you shared the room with him. Everything was funny, to him and to those around him. He loved telling stories.<\/p>\n

The best parts of Barry feel hereditary. The warmth in his children\u2019s expressions, in Ajay\u2019s smile. The self-awareness they harness. The way they covet competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally outgoing, very extroverted, always gonna be the one talking in the room,\u201d recalled Alexis Steinbach, one of Barry\u2019s daughters. \u201cMaybe that\u2019s why Ajay\u2019s a little more observant.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

\n Ajay with his father, Barry, who imparted \u2014 but never forced \u2014 his basketball dreams upon his son. (Courtesy of Fabienne Wagemans)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Ajay, far too young for Barry\u2019s prime, watched the twilight of his father\u2019s basketball career with wide eyes. Dad was a rugged 6-foot-5, defensive-minded wing with biceps that seemed as wide as tires. He was graying and less agile, though his will remained strong.<\/p>\n

He was the oldest active pro player in Belgian basketball history, a two-time Belgian Cup winner, protective of his craft.<\/p>\n

His children remember how Barry barked at teammates, sometimes swearing at them when he didn\u2019t receive the ball. Winning remained the priority, regardless of his age or the toll. Ajay rarely saw past that.<\/p>\n

Much of Ajay\u2019s personality came from his mother, Fabienne Wagemans. He\u2019s her only child. Last year, she moved in with him in Oklahoma City. She still cooks his meals and washes his clothes. She needed him as much as he needed her, she says.<\/p>\n

Ajay was a keenly aware child, watching his mother scramble to keep their home in Belgium upright. She was a fixer. Through her, he grew into a perfectionist.<\/p>\n

But Ajay watched Barry persist. His father\u2019s aspirations subconsciously became his.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember a lot of times just going to his practices with him, building those connections with him,\u201d Ajay said. \u201cIt always felt like he set everything up for me to follow his steps on the court.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Ajay came of age, his father stepped into coaching. \u201cHe demanded a high level of excellence from all the players that he coached,\u201d Steinbach said. \u201cHe was like an old-school, \u2018I\u2019m gonna be hard on you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Barry quietly wished his children continued his legacy. He hoped they\u2019d carry his will further. Watch his mistakes and evolve.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t have the interest in basketball,\u201d said Steinbach, a former Wisconsin volleyball player, \u201cand I know that that pained him a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/p>\n
\n

\n Ajay was able to see his father, Barry, achieve basketball stardom in Belgium. (Courtesy of Fabienne Wagemans)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Barry knew fathers who extended their careers through their sons. Who breathed down their backs, passing along their fears and shortcomings. He let his son choose.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we were at home, he would never want to train me,\u201d Ajay said. \u201cHe was like, \u2018You have your coaches; you\u2019re learning from them. You don\u2019t have to learn from me.\u2019 He never really pushed me to play basketball or pushed me to work out every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like he really wanted me to understand it has to come from me. I think it took time for me to realize it, but once I realized, I\u2019m grateful. When I look back at it, I always wanted to play basketball \u2014 and it\u2019s not because he played.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barry mostly kept his wishes to himself. Without steering the wheel for his son, he enabled him to follow. To aim.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think my dad always knew (Ajay) was going to be a pro,\u201d Steinbach said. \u201cHe didn\u2019t talk about it a lot. My dad was never running around Belgium saying, \u2018Ajay Mitchell\u2019s gonna be the next best thing to come out of Belgium.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI know he\u2019d always tell Fabienne, \u2018Just let him dream. If he sees himself in the NBA, let him dream. If he sees himself at a big school, let him dream, and he\u2019ll get there.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n

On the night the Thunder won the NBA Finals last June, with confetti still attached to the soles of his shoes, Mitchell beelined to his mother. He clutched her tightly, tears streaming down his face.<\/p>\n

Wagemans doesn\u2019t hesitate when asked what she remembers her baby boy telling her: \u201cThis is only the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo her, I knew how much it meant,\u201d Mitchell recalled, \u201cbut I also knew that she knew that I wanted more, just for myself. In my head, it was like, \u2018I just want to show you that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Mitchell\u2019s father didn\u2019t travel to Game 7. But throughout the playoffs, at games and at home, he wore a shirt with printed images of he and his son, both in uniform, both in their prime, with a message.<\/p>\n

IF YOU CAN SEE IT \u2026 YOU CAN BE IT! LIKE FATHER \u2026 LIKE SON!<\/em><\/p>\n

Mitchell called his dad that night. Barry\u2019s thoughts mirrored his son\u2019s. They choked up over this night, and they acknowledged the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe never wants to cry in front of me or when we\u2019re on the phone,\u201d Ajay said. \u201cBut I could tell how emotional he was. It\u2019s a dream come true for him to be able to see his son win an NBA championship. I just remember him saying how much he was proud of me, and how much the road ahead is long. That it\u2019s only the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/p>\n
\n

\n Just months into Ajay Mitchell\u2019s breakout NBA season, his father unexpectedly died. \u201cIt feels like he never really left me,\u201d he said. (Courtesy of Alexis Steinbach)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Mitchell\u2019s ambition only increased in the coming days. He wanted his fingerprints on the next title chase.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re really happy. You enjoy it,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cBut then, a couple days after that, you\u2019re like, \u2018Now, I gotta get better.\u2019 My goal is to have a role on a team that can win a championship, be able to help my team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dating back to his first training camp in the fall of 2024, as a second-round pick, Mitchell\u2019s ability to sift through the Thunder\u2019s rotation of all-league defenders earned him looks. His teammates all described him the same way: cool, calm, collected. He organized offense and got shots off. For a baby-faced squad on the verge of contention, his game screamed for opportunity.<\/p>\n

He played from Day 1, averaging 16.6 minutes and appearing in each of the Thunder\u2019s first 34 games last season. Then, his promising rookie year came to a halt. Turf toe surgery, which left him in a boot, robbed him of three months of playing time. When he returned in mid-April, his recovery timeline brushed too closely against the playoffs to meaningfully contribute.<\/p>\n

Losing his opportunity to injury as a rookie was disappointing but taught him patience.<\/p>\n

From the sideline, he scouted. He soaked up the intensity of a pair of Game 7s, understanding the emotional toll between games. He endured the mundane and the roller coaster of recovery. He learned the inner workings of a team capable of playing into June.<\/p>\n

His coming-out party began marinating in May.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/p>\n
\n

\n Ajay Mitchell played sparingly in the NBA Finals last year with Oklahoma City before emerging as a critical piece this season, averaging 13.6 points. (Maddie Meyer \/ Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Through Oklahoma City\u2019s 24-2 start this season, Mitchell looked the part, averaging 14 points and 3.7 assists in 25.8 minutes while bolstering his Sixth Man of the Year candidacy. He absorbed responsibility as an essential playmaker.<\/p>\n

Two months into his breakout, the death of Mitchell\u2019s father fractured his world.<\/p>\n

Mitchell, historically, is a listener. An internalizer. Few knew what emotions stirred inside him. He preferred that his thoughts belonged to him.<\/p>\n

One of the people he consistently confided in, who invited him to ramble, was gone. Without his father, Mitchell harbored more conflicting emotions than ever. Too many to sit with.<\/p>\n

Amid the most important season of his career, all that love, all that loss, swelled inside him. Ajay\u2019s instinct, to make his father proud, was turning to tunnel vision.<\/p>\n

But the genes of his mother granted him empathy and a tendency to lead with thoughtfulness. He grew up with his guard up \u201cfor no reason,\u201d learning forgiveness and gathering emotional intelligence while in college. Suppressing everything he felt about his father would impede his season. It would undo the fabric of his parents\u2019 teachings.<\/p>\n

He found that to heal and survive, his definition of composure required tweaking. Composure, he learned, isn\u2019t a mask. It\u2019s not confined to the court. He practiced vulnerability around family and teammates.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all went through it,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cIt\u2019s easy to just call my sister, call my brother. Talk about those things. Reading the Bible, praying. That\u2019s helped me reconnect with my dad in some way. It feels like he\u2019s still with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steinbach, a longtime academic adviser at the University of Wisconsin, has long recognized her brother\u2019s emotions. She\u2019s noticed more pockets to probe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he does a very good job of thinking and processing and finding ways to take what is a very painful and hard thing that we\u2019re all going through,\u201d Steinbach said, \u201cand turn it into, \u2018How can I be a better person, a better brother, a better boyfriend, a better son, a better basketball player?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cOur dad has no time left, but we all do. I think Ajay\u2019s really taken that as, \u2018What can I do now? And do even better? Because I have time, and I am here.\u2019 The maturity is wild.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ajay\u2019s most poignant memories of Barry, which surfaced in the days after he died and replay anytime he thinks of him, are simple. Driving with him to and from school. Learning the words to Kanye West and Jay-Z\u2019s \u201cGotta Have It.\u201d How he\u2019d phone him to joke that he\u2019d lost his hearing after watching Ajay\u2019s older brother, Elliott Black, shoot bricks in the gym.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s this voice in my head of him, you know?\u201d Ajay said. \u201cIt feels like he never really left me.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, he listens.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time something\u2019s going on, I\u2019m just like, \u2018What would he say? What would he think?\u2019\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cHis biggest thing was always family, and I think the way we all handled it is the way he would want it to be. He would have wanted us to stay up, no matter what, and remember him for the good things and what he is.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always think about the man he would want me to be. That drives me any time I\u2019m in a tough spot mentally. Trying to think how tough he was. No matter what I\u2019m going through, he\u2019s probably been through worse, and I can overcome anything. You learn a lot about being patient with yourself. Letting those emotions come out. Not hiding them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mitchell finds reminders of his father in everything. During film. While bringing the ball up the floor. When hearing another boisterous laugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember our last phone call, and it was like, \u2018I\u2019m so proud of you, and I love you, and keep your foot on the gas. Don\u2019t stop,\u2019\u201d Mitchell recalled. \u201cThat\u2019s always something that, when I think about (it), no matter what\u2019s going on, those are the things that matter. That\u2019s really all I think about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mitchell always prayed before games. Only now he closes his eyes a little longer. He\u2019s listening for something. Someone. The voice that never left.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
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OKLAHOMA CITY \u2014 Deep into the night of Dec. 18, Ajay Mitchell\u2019s boyish smile broke. His composure grew fragile. Grief gnawed at him. Once the point guard retired from running offense that night and the adrenaline of an Oklahoma City Thunder win waned, he plopped down in a film session beside his teammates. 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