Sacramento Kings guard Davion Mitchell looks to add a key skill to his game this offseason

Kings guard Davion Mitchell hasn’t taken much of a break from basketball since Sacramento’s Game 7 loss to the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

If he’s not watching a game, he’s probably in the gym working his own.

Mitchell is on a mission this offseason to develop his game in every aspect. He’s taking the process one day at a time, but Mitchell knows improving from his second to third year in the NBA is pivotal.

On the court, Mitchell has been in the gym getting shot repetitions and playing 3-on-3. Off the court, he’s been in the weight room every morning. He’s asking questions about how to improve and soaking up knowledge he can use to improve his game.

“There’s a lot of work being put in,” Mitchell told The Sacramento Bee. “I’ve been watching film, growing on the mental side of the game, shooting the basketball, learning things from different people, talking to NBA Hall of Famers, like, just picking their brain on how they adjusted from the second year to third year because, I mean, third year is usually your big year.”

When Mitchell first got to the league in 2021, he said he could “be a dog” for the Kings.

And he’s been that for Sacramento.

He earned the nickname “Off Night” for his stifling on-ball defense, which often causes opponents to have an off night in terms of shooting and handling the ball.

During the 2023 playoffs, Mitchell was given the not-so-easy task of chasing around Warriors guard Stephen Curry.

Mitchell told The Bee he views himself as one of the top five perimeter defenders in the league today.

On that list, he placed himself alongside Brooklyn Nets forward Mikal Bridges; Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday; Warriors forward and 2017 Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green; and 2022 Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, who recently moved from the Boston Celtics to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of a three-team trade.

Despite Mitchell’s defensive prowess, he doesn’t just want to be known for his standout talent on one end of the floor.

Mitchell really loves the game, he said, and just wants to hoop. His game is inspired by the goals he set for himself.

“I wanna get better every day,” Mitchell said. “I don’t think I’m just doing it just because I want to say ‘I’m in the NBA.’ I wanna say ‘I’m one of the greats to ever play in the NBA.’”

Shot improvement

To achieve the lofty goals Mitchell has set for himself, he is putting in the work this offseason to develop his jump shot. That has been his main focus all summer.

Mitchell said his shooting is something that is talked about every year during a podcast episode of “This League Uncut,” hosted by NBA insiders Chris Haynes and Marc Stein.

“That’s been kind of the biggest piece every year. I think it’s making progress,” Mitchell said on the podcast. “Even when I was in college, I kind of had the same problem my first two years, then I kept getting better and better each year. The more comfortable I get, the more confidence I have, the more the shots go in, the better percentages I have and the more I play.”

Mitchell showed signs of his scoring capability in his first year, averaging 11.5 points on 41.8% shooting from the field and 31.6% from 3-point range in 27.7 minutes per game.

When teammate De’Aaron Fox missed the final stretch of games of the 2021-22 season with a hand injury, Mitchell started in his place. During that span, he averaged 18.6 points and 8.9 assists on 45.8% shooting in 38.1 minutes played.

In his second season, Mitchell saw his playing time decreased to 18.1 minutes per game as minutes were spread to new acquisitions, including Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter.

Consequently, Mitchell’s scoring average dropped to 5.6 points per game. Despite the drop in scoring and minutes played, Mitchell managed to slightly improve his shooting percentages to 45.4% from the field and 32% from long range.

“Our whole team just got better. We got different pieces,” Mitchell said during the podcast. “This year we had a balanced roster with adding Kevin, adding Malik, then Trey (Lyles) playing, it just made a balanced roster and made our team better and made everything much better. I knew I had to sacrifice minutes.”

‘Make or miss’ league

Mitchell said the NBA is a make or miss league.

He won’t let missed shots frustrate him and won’t allow made shots to overly excite him.

Rather, he’s focusing on one shot at a time.

“I think just shooting the ball better, getting more comfortable shooting the ball, I think that’s the main thing,” Mitchell said. “If I can shoot the ball with confidence and hit most of them, then I’ll be on the floor more and everything will just work out.”

Mitchell has been working with Kings summer league coach Luke Loucks to expand his game. Mitchell emphasized getting a “really good amount of reps” when working on his jumper.

Always a student of the game, he reaches out to other great NBA shooters, such as Damian Lillard, to ask questions about their form, ball placement and other ways he should shoot the ball.

“Like I said, picking everybody’s brain. I feel like you can learn something no matter what level you’re at,” Mitchell told The Bee. “You can learn something from somebody different because everyone looks at the game differently, so just learning in different ways and just getting a lot of reps.”