Matthew Mitchell Jr. (born March 18, 1999) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for Žalgiris Kaunas of the

Lithuanian Basketball League Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

(LKL) and the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

San Diego State Aztecs The San Diego State Aztecs are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San Diego State University (SDSU). The university fields 17 varsity teams (6 men's, 11 women's) in National Collegiate Athle ...

High school career

As a freshman, Mitchell helped Martin Luther King High School in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

win the

CIF Southern Section The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) is the governing body for high school athletics in most of Southern California and is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation (CI ...

Division 1A championship. After the season, he transferred to Eleanor Roosevelt High School in

Eastvale, California Eastvale is a city in northwestern Riverside County, California, in the Inland Empire region of Southern California. The area transitioned from a dairy farm enclave to a developed community starting in the 1990s and was incorporated on October 1 ...

. As a senior, Mitchell averaged 25.4 points, 9.5 rebounds, three assists and 2.2 steals per game, recording 16

double-doubles In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

and scoring least 30 points in 10 games. He led Roosevelt to CIF State Division I, CIF Southern California Regional and Big VIII League titles. Mitchell was named HSGametime Player of the Year by ''

The Press-Enterprise ''The Press-Enterprise'' is a paid daily newspaper published by Digital First Media that serves the Inland Empire in Southern California. Headquartered in downtown Riverside, California, it is the primary newspaper for Riverside County, with h ...

''. He had success with Dream Vision on the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

circuit. Mitchell initially committed and signed a

National Letter of Intent The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manag ...

to play

for

Cal State Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public research university in Fullerton, California, United States. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the California State ...

. After his senior season, he reopened his recruitment and committed to

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

. Mitchell was considered a three-star recruit by most recruiting services.

College career

On November 20, 2017, in his fourth collegiate game, Mitchell scored a career-high 31 points, 26 of which came in the second half, in a 94–63 win over Eastern Illinois. He shot 7-of-11 from three-point range and scored the most points for a San Diego State freshman since Evan Burns in 2003. As a freshman, Mitchell averaged 10.5 points and four rebounds per game. On December 22, 2018, he scored a sophomore season-high 22 points, shooting 9-of-12 from the field, in a 90–81 victory over BYU. As a sophomore, Mitchell averaged 10.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. During the season, he gained about 20 pounds. In the offseason, he cut down his weight by improving his diet and spending more time in the gym. On February 1, 2020, Mitchell scored a junior season-high 28 points, including 24 in the second half, in an 80–68 win over Utah State. As a junior, he averaged 12.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, helping San Diego State achieve a 30–2 record. Mitchell earned first-team and second-team All- Mountain West honors in the coaches and media polls, respectively. On April 26, he declared for the

2020 NBA draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecticut, wi ...

while maintaining his college eligibility. Mitchell announced he was withdrawing from the draft on August 1. On December 18, he scored a career-high 35 points in a 72–62 loss to BYU. At the close of his senior season, Mitchell was named Mountain West Player of the Year. He averaged 15.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Mitchell declared for the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. The NBA draft returned to Brooklyn after 2020 NBA draft, the pre ...

and hired an agent.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

, Mitchell signed with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

for Summer League. On August 2, 2021, Mitchell signed with SIG Strasbourg of the

LNB Pro A LNB may refer to: Sport * Liga Nacional de Baloncesto, a professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol, an Argentine basketball league * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol (Paraguay), Liga Nacional de Básquetb ...

. On July 6, 2023, Mitchell signed with

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

of the Turkish

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League (; TBSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replaced the former Turkish Bas ...

(BSL). On June 27, 2024, Mitchell signed a two-year (1+1) contract with Žalgiris Kaunas of the

(LKL) and the

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 32 , , 26.5 , , .450 , , .358 , , .765 , , 4.0 , , 1.7 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 10.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 33 , , 26.4 , , .405 , , .328 , , .755 , , 4.1 , , 1.8 , , .7 , , .2 , , 10.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 19 , , 25.8 , , .468 , , .393 , , .873 , , 4.8 , , 1.7 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , 12.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , style="text-align:left;",

, 25 , , 24 , , 29.8 , , .436 , , .337 , , .809 , , 5.6 , , 2.0 , , 1.4 , , .2 , , 15.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 124 , , 108 , , 27.0 , , .439 , , .354 , , .804 , , 4.5 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 11.9

References

External links

EuroLeague profileRealGM profileSan Diego State Aztecs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Matt 1999 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Lithuania American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Basketball players from Riverside, California BC Žalgiris players Beşiktaş men's basketball players Martin Luther King High School (Riverside, California) alumni San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball players SIG Strasbourg players Small forwards Sportspeople from Eastvale, California