Ajay Mitchell will not play in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals on Sunday, leaving Oklahoma City without one of the guards who helped shape its 2-1 series lead over San Antonio. Mitchell was ruled out after straining his right soleus in the second quarter of Game 3.
The injury came after Mitchell left Game 3 with 3:56 remaining in the first half and played 16:53 in Friday night’s 123-108 win. He finished with 2 points on 1-of-5 shooting, missed his only 3-point attempt, and added 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 turnovers. Oklahoma City now faces Game 4 with Jalen Williams listed as questionable because of left hamstring soreness and Thomas Sorber on the injury report while recovering from right ACL surgery.
Mitchell’s absence matters because he has been one of the Thunder’s most important secondary scorers all season. In 57 regular-season games, he averaged 13.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals, and Oklahoma City went 6-1 when he scored at least 20 points. The Thunder were also 4-0 in postseason games when he reached that mark, a reminder of how much his offense has mattered when the games tighten.
That value has shown up in the playoffs beyond scoring. Mitchell entered the weekend ninth among players in total points off drives and was shooting 47.2 percent on those attempts. He also had the Thunder’s second-highest net-rating swing in the 2026 playoffs at plus-21.4, behind only Alex Caruso’s plus-27.3. When Williams has been in and out of the lineup, Mitchell has stepped into a bigger role as a viable No. 2 option to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The friction for Oklahoma City is simple: the Thunder entered Game 4 at 10-1 in the postseason, but they are now managing a rotation that has already absorbed one key injury and has two more players on the report. Mitchell’s return will depend on how quickly the soreness responds, and the Thunder have shown enough depth to win without him for a night, but not enough to make his absence feel small.
