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Welcome to the League: Liberty County alum 'Off Night' makes his NBA debut
Davion Mitchell
Davion Mitchell (15) handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors in Oct. 24 game - courtesy photo provided by Yahoo News

SACRAMENTO, CA -- Davion Mitchell has finally jumped on the NBA scene after being picked ninth overall in the 2021 NBA Draft in July.

Suiting up for the Sacramento Kings, the Liberty County alum Mitchell has come off the bench, averaging 29.3 minutes per game over three contests as his team opened their season on Wednesday, Oct. 20.

The Kings have posted a 1-2 record, getting a victory over the Portland Trailblazers, and losing to the Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors.

Over his first three career games, Mitchell averages nine points per game, 3.7 assists, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.3 steals.

In the Kings' Oct. 24 game against the Stephen Curry-led Warriors, Mitchell scored a career high of 22 points on 8-16 shooting.

Known for his defensive prowess, deeming the nickname 'Off Night' for his stingy and gritty defense that causes his matchup to have an off night, videos have surfaced of Mitchell holding his own while defending NBA All-Star guards Damian Lillard of the Trailblazers and Donovan Mitchell of the Jazz.

Mitchell has even received high praised from the league's top stars throughout his first three games.

"All that hype about his defense, that man was an offensive assassin tonight," Curry said about the Hinesville homer. "He has a knack for on-ball presence. This is just his third game in the league. He has a lot of room to grow. But you can definitely tell that he has all the tools in the kit to be a defensive stopper. He's just a pest out there in the best of ways."

"He does a lot of solid things defensively that disrupted not only myself but a lot of us," Donovan Mitchell said about the rookie. "He set the tone defensively and got the crowd involved. They call him 'Off Night.' They feed off of that. It starts with Davion on the defensive end. Everyone knows our relationship. I got mad respect for him. He's going to get better as his career goes on."

In a postgame interview, Mitchell looked at the 3-time NBA champion and 2-time MVP Curry as his biggest challenge thus far.

"Steph can play the game off the ball," Mitchell said after the Warriors game. "He's always moving, setting great screens, cutting, getting layups, getting his teammates open."

The next time the 2016 GHSA state and 2021 NCAA champion Mitchell will take the court will be on Wednesday, Oct. 27 when the Kings take on the defending Western Conference championships Phoenix Suns led by the All-Star backcourt duo of Chris Paul and Devin Booker.

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