Miami Heat guard Davion Mitchell (45) drives the ball in the second half during their NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Kaseya Center in Miami on November 26, 2025. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com
Miami Heat guard Davion Mitchell is known for his defense. He earned the nickname “Off Night” in college for his ability to shut down the opponent’s top scorers.
Now, Mitchell is also earning respect around the NBA as a set-up man while playing as the starting point guard for a Heat offense that’s the second-highest scoring and fastest-paced unit in the NBA.
After matching a season-high with 12 assists to just two turnovers in Monday night’s 140-123 blowout win against the Los Angeles Clippers at Kaseya Center, Mitchell owns an excellent assist-to-turnover ratio of 5.1 this season. Among the 276 players around the NBA who entered Tuesday with 10 or more games played and averaging 15 or more minutes per appearance, only Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell and Denver Nuggets guard Tim Hardaway Jr. have a better assist-to-turnover ratio than Mitchell this season.
“I try not to think about it as much,” Mitchell, 27, said of his ratio. “Because the more you think about not turning the ball over, the more you turn the ball over. So I just kind of just go in there and try to draw the other team in, and my teammates do a good job of just getting open.”
It’s working because Mitchell has dished out a lot of assists and hasn’t committed many turnovers this season. Mitchell entered Tuesday ranked fifth in the NBA with 163 assists this season, behind only Denver’s Nikola Jokic (221 assists), Los Angeles’ James Harden (168), Detroit’s Cade Cunningham (167) and Chicago’s Josh Giddey (164).
Among the 30 players around the league who entered Tuesday with more than 100 total assists this season, Mitchell has committed the second-fewest turnovers. Only Toronto’s Jamal Shead has committed fewer turnovers than Mitchell while recording more than 100 assists this season.
“He really helps what we’re trying to do,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Mitchell. “He gets it, he understands it, and then he can execute it, and he’s fast. He’s fast as heck, and he really wants to set guys up.
“He feels the momentum of the game, and then he has that feel that all great point guards have of getting guys open shots to really extend the lead.”
Miami Heat center/forward Bam Adebayo (13), guard Davion Mitchell (45), guard Tyler Herro (14), and guard Norman Powell (24) walk together on the court during their NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Kaseya Center in Miami on November 26, 2025. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com
Mitchell feels comfortable leading the Heat’s uptempo attack, more comfortable than when he was first traded to Miami in February midway through last season as part of the Jimmy Butler deal. Mitchell was moved to a Heat team that ended last season as the fourth-slowest-paced team in the NBA.
“I’m kind of just out there just flowing for real,” Mitchell said, with the Heat (14-7) now on the road to begin a two-game trip on Wednesday against the Mavericks (7-15) in Dallas (8:30 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun and NBA TV). “When I first got here, I was thinking a little bit. Obviously, I tried to do what I do on the defensive end, but offensively I was still trying to find what I can do for this team. But now, it’s like I’m not even out there thinking. I’m just out there making plays and just kind of just free flowing.”
Mitchell, who is averaging 7.8 assists per game this season, has a chance to become only the third Heat player to finish a regular season averaging eight or more assists per game in franchise history. The only players to do it are Tim Hardaway (1995-96, 1996-97 and 1997-98) and Sherman Douglas (1990-91).
“I think the play style fits him perfectly,” Heat guard Norman Powell said when asked about Mitchell’s playmaking. “Being able to push the pace, attack and then we got shooters and playmakers around him. So he’s just distributing and then being able to take the attacks and stuff that are in front of him. And he’s doing a great job reading the game. And he gets really mad at himself when he gets turnovers. So I think that, as well, helps.”
With the Heat’s revamped offense using the fewest screens in the NBA this season, a lot of Mitchell’s assists have come from his ability to beat his defender off the dribble to get into the paint and collapse the defense.
Mitchell (6-0, 210 pounds) is averaging the second-most drives to the basket per game on the Heat this season (11.6) behind only sixth man Jaime Jaquez Jr. Among the 46 players in the NBA who entered Tuesday averaging at least 11 drives to the basket per game this season, Mitchell owns the third-highest pass percentage on those drives (passing the ball at the end of 54.5% of those attacks to the basket).
“He’s very focused and a step ahead of what the defense is doing and where we’re going to be, and trusting that we’re going to be in our spots,” Powell continued. “And we’re doing a great job just playing off of him. He’s so fast getting down in the paint now. He draws all the eyes. And now we’re just moving without the ball and he’s finding us, and we’re able to knock down those shots.”
Mitchell added: “I’m not just a point guard who comes off a lot of ball screens and things like that. Our team just moves the ball, and we kind of play like that. So it’s a little bit different for me. But for me, it’s like I get in the paint, and I just know that people are going to collapse because they know I can drive the ball really well, and I kind of just find my open teammates. I really don’t make it difficult at all. I feel like it’s pretty easy to me.”
Mitchell, who signed a two-year contract worth $24 million this past summer to stay with the Heat, is making it look easy, too.
Along with continuing to provide elite on-ball defense and now playing as one of the most efficient playmakers in the NBA, Mitchell is averaging 10 points per game on 51.6% shooting from the field and 23-of-57 (40.4%) shooting from three-point range while starting in each of the Heat’s first 21 games this season.
With the Heat marking the third different team Mitchell has played for since being drafted by the Sacramento Kings with the ninth overall pick in 2021, he finally feels like he found his NBA home.
“Even in the down moments, I think I’m still learning a lot more from being on this team,” Mitchell said. “My teammates help me out. Like, we just always talk about it. If something is wrong, we talk about it, we discuss it, and we make changes for it. And we try to do our best to make changes. That’s the good thing about this team. We talk to each other, and we can hold each other accountable.”
INJURY REPORT
After Heat guard Pelle Larsson exited Monday’s win over the Clippers in the first half because of a foot injury, an MRI on his injured foot revealed a sprained right toe.
Larsson, who has been labeled by the Heat as day-to-day, is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game in Dallas.
The Heat also listed Powell (left ankle sprain) and forward Keshad Johnson (illness) as questionable.
The rest of the Heat’s roster, except guard Terry Rozier, is expected to be available for Wednesday’s matchup against the Mavericks.