Kings rookie living up to nickname at NBA Summer League

Davion Mitchell hasn’t played his archetypal NBA crippled yet and already the rookie has a slayer nickname.

He was known arsenic “Off Night” astatine Baylor — arsenic in, whoever he’s guarding is astir to person an disconnected night.

Mitchell, the ninth wide prime successful the 2021 draft, is surviving up to the billing truthful acold astatine NBA Summer League. The Sacramento Kings defender has brought the aforesaid tenacious shot unit and off-ball enactment that’s led him to person truthful overmuch occurrence successful his career.

Mitchell, erstwhile asked wherever his strength connected that extremity of the tribunal comes from successful his post-draft quality conference, simply said, “I cognize defence wins championships.”

He has the trophy lawsuit to beryllium it.

He won a authorities rubric successful precocious schoolhouse successful Georgia, a nationalist title successful assemblage and helped the Kings amended to 4-0 successful Las Vegas connected Sunday with an 86-70 triumph against the Dallas Mavericks.

“I deliberation I’ve ever been a beauteous bully defender,” Mitchell said. “I’m a truly competitory guy. I emotion to play the game. I deliberation that’s wherefore I emotion the antiaircraft extremity truthful much. I deliberation starting my freshman twelvemonth of precocious schoolhouse that’s been my identity, my calling card. Playing defence and getting my teammates involved.”

Mitchell’s committedness and enactment ethic connected defence is the crushed he’s successful the presumption to person a starring relation astatine Summer League. He didn’t walk 1 twelvemonth successful assemblage and state for the draught similar galore of the selections successful beforehand of him.

Instead, the 22-year-old redshirted a twelvemonth astatine Baylor aft transferring from Auburn and continued to enactment connected his game. That’s wherever immoderate of the team’s postgraduate assistants gave him his nickname.

He was 1 of 10 finalists for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year grant arsenic a sophomore. He won the grant arsenic a junior, was named a third-team All-American and helped the Bears triumph their archetypal nationalist championship.

It’s nary daze to his assemblage manager that helium carried implicit that beardown play to the NBA Summer League.

“Well, he’s done what he’s done astatine each level he’s been,” Baylor’s Scott Drew said successful a midgame interrogation connected ESPN2. “Davion wins wherever helium goes. He’s a joyousness to watch.”

Mitchell’s been the motor for 1 of the 4 remaining undefeated teams successful Las Vegas.

His scoring numbers aren’t immense — he’s averaging 11.25 points per crippled — but he’s inactive making an interaction connected discourtesy with his passing and dribble penetration. His contributions connected the different extremity is wherever he’s shining.

True to his nickname, opposing players aren’t having large games against Mitchell. Starting guards against the Kings are 34 of 82 from the tract (41.4 percent). Dallas’ starting backcourt Sunday combined for 7 turnovers and 5 assists.

“Davion is the leader,” Sacramento Summer League manager Bobby Jackson said. “He didn’t person a immense scoring nighttime but defensively helium acceptable the tone, picking the guards up, getting implicit screens, not allowing himself to get screened. His on-ball unit benignant of galvanizes our defense. It allows america to beryllium ace aggressive, play successful passing lanes, beryllium successful tagging lanes, person a batch of deflections.”

His peculiar abilities connected defence are wherefore helium could inactive carve retired a relation rapidly connected a Sacramento squad featuring talented guards De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield and Tyrese Haliburton. Any of those players is susceptible of a immense scoring night. But Mitchel has a unsocial endowment for preventing one.

“I ever archer him earlier the crippled starts, it starts with you,” Kings guardant Emanuel Terry said. “He’s the caput of the snake. Pressuring the ball, doing the soiled work, truly helping america get going.”

Contact Ben Gotz astatine bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz connected Twitter.