Season Review: Davion Mitchell

Typically, second-year players are able to build on their rookie season with increased opportunity, primarily in the form of playing time. Yet, Sacramento’s Davion Mitchell played 629 fewer minutes than the 2076 minutes he saw in his rookie campaign. A new surrounding cast and coaching staff led to a new role for Mitchell to adapt to and grow comfortable in.

In the simplest terms, Davion Mitchell was the best defender on the team by a wide margin, but the Kings were a team that won games by being the best offense in the NBA. Shooting remains the far and away most crucial swing skill surrounding Mitchell’s continued growth and development as a player in this system.

Before we dive into his offense, let’s take a look at what makes Davion Mitchell already one of the best isolation guard defenders in the league. His understanding of his opponent’s tendencies through countless hours of film, phenomenal lateral quickness, and otherworldly deceleration makes for a deadly combination.

With Mitchell off the floor, Sacramento’s defensive rating was 115.4, per NBA Stats. With him in the game, that number fell to 111.8 which would have ranked sixth among teams in the regular season. Mitchell’s most common matchups throughout the year were some of the most creative and/or explosive guards; Stephen Curry, CJ McCollum, Shaedon Sharpe, Devin Booker, Russell Westbrook, and Jalen Green.

His isolation and point-of-attack defense can already be labeled as elite. The nickname “Off-Night” was not self-proclaimed, it was given to him because he earned it during his time with Baylor and it remains fitting with Sacramento.

While on-ball defense is his clear specialty, Mitchell found ways to disrupt teams off-ball as well. His 15 total charges this season were a team-high and ranked him 15th among all players. His defensive stops often led to promising open-court opportunities on the other end and his impact there translated to the postseason against one of the best point guards of all-time.

“I go against [Davion Mitchell] every day in practice,” Fox said yesterday. “That’s why ya’ll see me do what I do out here because I’m not going against Davion out here.”

Here are Mitchell’s game-changing defensive highlights from yesterday: pic.twitter.com/SonjsgSoWf

— Brenden Nunes (@BrendenNunesNBA) April 18, 2023

Yet, after playing 20+ minutes in four of the first five postseason games against Golden State, Mitchell only saw 11 minutes in game six and eight minutes in the pivotal game seven. Coach Brown and the rest of his staff decided to embrace their strength of spacing and shooting, even if that meant they would take a slight hit defensively.

Curry did go on to drop 50 points at Golden 1 Center in game seven and Coach Brown was later asked about the decision to not put Mitchell on Curry more often that night.

“Our best game of the series was game six and (Terence Davis) guarded Steph. We felt it gave Fox and Malik (Monk) a lot of room because TD was obviously a high-level shooter for us,” Coach Brown said. He went on to reiterate that he felt the game was not lost because Curry contributed 50 points on 20/38 from the field, but more so due to the 18 offensive rebounds they allowed and missing 11 free throws.

Providing Fox, Monk, and Domantas Sabonis with adequate spacing was essential to Sacramento’s success this season and shooting is far from Mitchell’s specialty at this moment. Mitchell shot 25.9 percent (7/27) from three in the postseason after knocking down 32.0 percent in the regular season on 2.5 attempts per game.

So, while the defense improved with him on the floor, it was evened out by the offensive shortcomings. With Mitchell on the floor, Sacramento’s offensive rating was 114.4 compared to 118.1 with him off. Mitchell isn’t a great playmaker for others or a standout player in dribble penetration, which leaves everything revolving around his three-point shot.

In the regular season, Mitchell converted a solid 34.6 percent (47/136) of his catch-and-shoot threes, compared to 26.6 percent (16/61) off-the-bounce. The most concerning number, however, was his 31.0 percent (45/145) conversion rate on what NBA Stats refers to as “wide-open” triples, meaning no defender was within six feet when the shot went up.

When your two stars are players who thrive with spacing around them and are not standout shooters themselves, keeping defenses honest off-ball becomes essential. There were plenty of times when opponents dared Mitchell to take those shots and seemed to be content living with the results.

Notice how willing teams were to help off of Davion and the apparent lack of urgency and concern when closing out on him. That’s exactly why he saw fewer minutes than last year. While Coach Brown was constantly looking for ways to improve defensively, Sacramento’s success was rooted in their league-best offense, and significantly harming your strengths in an attempt to improve on weaknesses would likely be a net negative.

203 of Mitchell’s 1,447 total minutes came alongside De’Aaron Fox. It’s hard to see that number significantly increasing without a much-improved jumper from either one of that backcourt pairing. In those 203 minutes, Sacramento tallied an underwhelming 107.7 offensive rating and a -6.2 net rating.

Interestingly, the Baylor alum converted 36.1 percent of his threes on the road, but just 28.0 percent at home. There are some reasons for optimism when it comes to his jumper, starting with Mitchell’s well-known relentless work ethic in pursuit of improvement. He also had six games this season with at least three made shots from beyond the arc.

The other side is that he did not convert a single three in 41 of his 80 games played in 2022-23. His long ball becoming more consistent would do wonders for his opportunity and the rest of his game. Teams would not be able to go under screens, and Mitchell could then capitalize on his 67 percent shooting within four feet, per Cleaning the Glass.

Flashes of space creation surfaced sporadically throughout the season and Mitchell did convert 43.1 percent (31/72) of his off-the-dribble twos.

Davion Mitchell’s entire offensive game, and his teammates, would be unlocked if he gained leaguewide respect as a three-point shooter and he clearly recognizes the importance of improving in that aspect.

During exit interviews, Mitchell was asked what he plans to work on this offseason. “Just being a consistent shooter. Keep working on that, keep having confidence in the shot,” Mitchell said. “Be able to become a better leader, run the second unit better, but also just a better shooter.”

Mitchell, Fox, Sabonis, and Harrison Barnes were the four players named to the team’s leadership council this year, and that itself speaks to the person Mitchell is. He brings his all every single night and is a truly talented defensive player for his size.

If he’s going to garner more opportunity to play extended minutes alongside De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis and show off his defensive ability, he will need to clean up his three-point shooting. We will see how his well-known work ethic pays off as his third season in the NBA is on the horizon.