Sacramento Kings rookie Davion Mitchell has seemingly impressed his teammates and coaches over the offseason and they believe that hard work could yield a strong rookie campaign this season.
Mitchell, who was the ninth overall pick, was named co-MVP of the Las Vegas Summer League after averaging 10.8 points, 5.8 assists and 1.4 rebounds. He shot 47.1% from 3-point range and flashed his elite defensive ability throughout his time in Las Vegas.
His addition to the lineup projects to give the Kings yet another guard to utilize on both ends of the floor. He was named the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year last season at Baylor, something that will be highly beneficial for the Kings.
Mitchell has had the opportunity to get to know his teammates after running in some pickup games with De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton. They each were impressed with what they saw in him as Fox believes Mitchell is ready to contribute right away.
“He’s an older rookie so he’s more NBA ready and he’s a stronger guy,” Fox said on Monday. “He’s over 200 pounds at like 6-foot or 6-1, so I think he’s ready. I think he’s ready to contribute to the team now. We’ve played pickup and he’s an NBA player.”
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Fox pointed to the way Mitchell can anticipate the next play on the court as one area of his game that stood out the most. He also noticed how he uses his size and strength to get to his spots on offense and lock up the opposition on defense.
Of course, Mitchell will have his fair share of ups and downs this season as a rookie but Fox and the Kings won’t be looking at it that way. Instead, they see him as an overall NBA player.
“Obviously, this year, people are (going to call him a rookie) but for us, we’re not looking at it that way,” Fox said. “It’s the same way we kinda looked at Tyrese last year. He is an NBA player. We’re not worried about him being a rookie, or if you’re in your third or fourth season, that doesn’t matter for us. He is definitely going to come in and help us change a lot of that.”
The addition of Mitchell figures to give the Kings a potential elite 3-and-D player given his ability on both ends of the floor. His selection may have been questioned by some given their backcourt situation but it is evident he should check a lot of boxes for the Kings.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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