UC Santa Barbara alum Ajay Mitchell became the ninth former Big West student-athlete to win an NBA title on Sunday, when the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers four-games-to-three in the 2025 NBA Finals. 

With the series tied 3-3, the Thunder took care of business in game seven with a 103-91 victory at home. Guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named MVP. 

Mitchell was drafted with the 38th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks and subsequently traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The former Gaucho guard was a three-time All-Big West selection, garnering First Team honors in the final two seasons, and was the league's Player of the Year and Championship MVP in 2022-23. In 2023-24, the Ans, Liege, Belgium product averaged 20.0 points, on 50.4 percent shooting, 4.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.

Wednesday, June 25, marks the start of the 2025 NBA Draft, with the first round taking place. The second round will be held on Thursday, June 26. The Big West has produced 128 NBA Draft selections since 1970. 

Big West Alums That Have Won an NBA Title

Name	Year	NBA Team	Big West School
Glenn McDonald	1976	Boston Celtics	Long Beach State ('74)
Bob Gross	1977	Portland Trailblazers	Long Beach State ('75)
Craig Hodges	1991, 1992	Chicago Bulls	Long Beach State ('82)
Scott Brooks	1994	Houston Rockets	UC Irvine ('87)
Randy Brown	1996, 1997, 1998	Chicago Bulls	New Mexico State ('91)
Brian Shaw	2000, 2001, 2002	Los Angeles Lakers	UC Santa Barbara ('88)
JR Rider	2001	Los Angeles Lakers	UNLV ('93)
Bruce Bowen	2003, 2005, 2007	San Antonio Spurs	Cal State Fullerton ('93)
Ajay Mitchell	2025	Oklahoma City Thunder	UC Santa Barbara ('24)