Akil Anthony Mitchell (born June 26, 1992) is an American-Panamanian professional basketball player for AEK Athens of the Greek Basket League and the Basketball Champions League. He played college basketball for the University of Virginia.

College career

Mitchell came to the Virginia from the Charlotte Christian School in Charlotte, North Carolina as a lightly-regarded recruit, choosing the Cavaliers over offers from Navy and

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

. He had an inconsistent freshman season in

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, but played more than expected after an injury to star Mike Scott. He joined Scott and classmate Joe Harris in the Cavaliers' starting lineup midway through the 2011–12 season as the trio led the team to a 22–10 record and the program's first NCAA tournament appearance in five years. As a junior the next year, Mitchell averaged 13.1

points Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...

and 8.9

rebounds per game 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

, earning third-team All-

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

honors. With more support as a senior, Mitchell's personal statistics declined, but the Cavaliers enjoyed one of their best seasons in years, recording a 30–7 record, winning both the regular-season and ACC tournament championships and earning a top seed in the

2014 NCAA tournament The 2014 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 18, 2014, and concluded with the ...

. Mitchell was named to the ACC All-Defensive team and second-team All ACC Tournament.

Collegiate statistics

, - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", Virginia , 29 , , 1 , , 15.1 , , .338 , , .125 , , .517 , , 3.0 , , .8 , , .6 , , .2 , , 2.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;", Virginia , 32 , , 15 , , 22.0 , , .505 , , .000 , , .509 , , 4.4 , , .8 , , .7 , , .3 , , 4.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, style="text-align:left;", Virginia , 35 , , 35 , , 30.5 , , .545 , , .000 , , .693 , , 8.9 , , 1.5 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , 13.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;", Virginia , 37 , , 36 , , 25.7 , , .561 , , .000 , , .427 , , 7.0 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , .6 , , 6.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 133 , , 87 , , 23.8 , , .519 , , .090 , , .570 , , 6.0 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , .4 , , 6.9

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

2014 NBA draft The 2014 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2014, at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

, Mitchell joined the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

for the

2014 NBA Summer League The 2014 NBA Summer League consists of two pro basketball leagues organized by the NBA and the Orlando Magic just after the 2014 NBA Draft. Ten teams took part in the week-long summer league at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, from July 5 t ...

. On September 26, 2014, he signed with the Rockets, but was later waived by the team on October 23. On November 2, 2014, he was acquired by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

as an affiliate player of the Rockets. In 49 games for the Vipers in 2014–15, he averaged 9.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steals per game. In July 2015, Mitchell joined the Brooklyn Nets for the

2015 NBA Summer League The 2015 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the NBA: the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Ten teams participated in the week-long Orlando Pro Summer League a ...

. On August 13, 2015, he signed with Olympique Antibes for the 2015–16 LNB Pro A season. In 34 games for Antibes, he averaged 9.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. In July 2016, Mitchell joined the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

for the

2016 NBA Summer League The 2016 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Ten teams participated in the week ...

. On August 30, 2016, he signed with the New Zealand Breakers for the

2016–17 NBL season The 2016–17 NBL season was the 39th season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of eight teams contested the league. The regular season was played between October 2016 and February 2017, followed by a pos ...

. On January 26, 2017, Mitchell fell to the floor in agony early in the fourth quarter of the Breakers' 94–81 loss to the Cairns Taipans after what seemed to be an innocuous poke to the face while contesting a rebound with Taipans centre

Nnanna Egwu Nnanna Egwu (born October 22, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for Earth Friends Tokyo Z of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball for the Illinois Fighting Illini. Egwu holds the career record for blocks at Illin ...

resulted in his left eyeball coming out of its socket. Mitchell was taken to Auckland Hospital after the incident, where he was advised by specialists that while there was some damage to the eye, early reports were positive that the injury was not as serious as first feared. Mitchell was later discharged by specialists that night and reported having vision in the eye. On February 7, 2017, he returned to the US to seek further specialist advice on his injured eye. In 25 games for the Breakers, Mitchell averaged 9.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. On February 24, 2017, Mitchell was acquired by the Long Island Nets of the

. In four games for Long Island, he averaged 8.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. On September 24, 2017, Mitchell signed with the Brooklyn Nets. He was waived by Brooklyn on October 11, 2017. On August 4, 2018, Mitchell signed with

Boulazac Basket Dordogne Boulazac Basket Dordogne, also known as BBD or simply Boulazac, is a French professional basketball club, based in Boulazac. The team currently plays in the LNB Pro A currently named Jeep Elite for sponsoring reason, the first level of basketball ...

of the French

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...

. On July 30, 2019, he signed with Pallacanestro Trieste of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). The 2019–20 season in Italy was cancelled early due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But in Israel the season was restored, and Mitchell signed with Hapoel Gilboa Galil on May 26, 2020, for the end of the season. On August 16, 2020, he signed with

Maccabi Rishon LeZion Maccabi Rishon LeZion is a sport club in Rishon LeZion, Israel. The professional teams associated with it include: *Maccabi Rishon LeZion (basketball) *Maccabi Rishon LeZion (handball) * Maccabi Rishon LeZion (badminton) There was also a footb ...

in Israel. Mitchell averaged 15.6 points, 8.8 rebounds (third in the Israeli Basketball Premier League), 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals (9th) per game, with a .599 field goal percentage (8th). On July 14, 2021, he signed with Karşıyaka Basket of the Turkish Super League. Mitchell averaged 4.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game. On November 25 of the same year, he signed with Brose Bamberg of the

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...

(BBL). On August 2, 2022, Mitchell signed with Greek club AEK Athens.

National team career

In May 2016, Mitchell trialled for the Panama men's national basketball team ahead of the

2016 Centrobasket The 2016 Men's Central American and Caribbean Basketball Championship, also known as 2016 Centrobasket, was the regional basketball championship of FIBA Americas for the Central American and Caribbean subzone. The top five teams automatically qual ...

in June. He made the squad, and in six games for Panama, he averaged 5.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

References

External links

Virginia Cavaliers bio

Breakers import doesn't want to run into Aussies
{{AEK B.C. current roster 1992 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in New Zealand American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Panamanian descent Basketball players from Charlotte, North Carolina Brose Bamberg players Centers (basketball) Charlotte Christian School alumni Karşıyaka basketball players Lega Basket Serie A players Long Island Nets players New Zealand Breakers players Olympique Antibes basketball players Pallacanestro Trieste players Panamanian men's basketball players People with acquired Panamanian citizenship Power forwards (basketball) Rio Grande Valley Vipers players Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball players