2. Davion Mitchell
If this season has shown one thing, it is that Davion Mitchell does not allow adversity to bring him down. For the first time in his short NBA career, the former lottery pick had to fight for minutes and watch someone else take them.
Keon Ellis outplayed Mitchell earlier in the season, but he came back stronger and better than ever. Improved three-point shooting from Mitchell and more offensive production from Ellis allowed Coach Brown to play both at the same time, starting in March.
Not having one of his two best guard defenders stuck on the bench has done wonders for Brown’s defensive vision. Nevertheless, losing Malik Monk raised some serious questions. Who would provide that special spark off the bench in his absence? Who would up their scoring and provide some firepower for the second unit?
The answer to both, it seems, is Mitchell. With Monk out, he is now the main guard off the Kings’ bench, and he has answered the call. His offensive game looks much improved as he is decisive, confident, and fearless.
Mitchell has an uncanny ability to get to the rim and has been using it to his advantage lately. Against the Nets, he completely changed the game by breaking apart Brooklyn’s zone defense.
His three-point shot has really come along, too, though. Since the beginning of April, Mitchell has hit 9 of his 21 attempts from beyond the arc. He may not be quite as electric as Monk, but the 25-year-old has been providing his very own spark off the Kings’ bench.
With his defensive ability, he can disrupt an opponent’s flow quickly and is now also changing games offensively. Many Kings fans were incredibly down on Mitchell early in the season. He struggled immensely and failed to make the jump we had all been waiting for. It was disappointing, but we may have judged him too early. Now, Davion Mitchell is truly showing flashes of the player we envisioned him to be eventually.