The Obvious and Smart Move: Davion Mitchell Declares for NBA Draft and Hires Agent

Davion Mitchell, the National Defensive Player of the Year award winner (x3) and South Region’s Most Outstanding Player, has declared for the 2021 NBA Draft. Mitchell just announced on Instagram he’ll be hiring an agent and not returning to Baylor for his senior season.

When I spoke to Mitchell during the COVID pause in February, I got the sense this would be it. Since then, Mitchell dominated the end of the regular season, then played phenomenal offense and defense to help lead Baylor to a national championship.

Mitchell made a fantastic decision to return for his junior season. While he might have been a late second round pick after his sophomore season, he elected to return to school to win a title and boost his draft stock.

As he told me back in February, he wanted to show he was a better offensive player than he’d been as a sophomore. He showed that this season, as he hit 45% of his triples and feasted on switches to get to the rim.

I’d be shocked if Mitchell goes outside of the top 10 in the draft. My guess is that he’ll end up going somewhere between No. 6 and No. 8, but you never want to bet against Mitchell moving up even higher. With his overwhelming defense and incredible speed plus excellent 3-point range, I’d expect him to have a very long NBA career.

I wish the best of luck to Mitchell and his family. He’s been a great representative for Baylor; he deserves to become a millionaire and play at the highest level. He left Baylor better than when he arrived, and Baylor certainly got the same deal too.