Mizzou hooper Mark Mitchell signs deal with Denver
DENVER, Colo. (KMIZ)
Mizzou men's basketball star Mark Mitchell's dream of making it to the next level came true, on Thursday morning.
College basketball insider Jake Weingarten reported that the former Tiger signed an Exhibit-10 deal, which is a one-year, non-guaranteed NBA minimum salary deal, with the Denver Nuggets, following the conclusion of the 2026 NBA Draft. That news was later confirmed by Mitchell, when he reposted the update on his social media. The Exhibit-10 deal will allow Mitchell to show off his skills during NBA Summer League, as he'll look to lock down a spot at Nuggets training camp, after that.
Mitchell is following in the footsteps of his childhood friend and former MU teammate Tamar Bates, who also signed a deal, a two-way contract, with Denver, following the 2025 NBA Draft. However, as of now, Bates is a free agent, after being waived by the Nuggets in March.
The Kansas City, Kansas native had been projected by many national outlets to be a mid-to-late second round draft pick, but did not end up getting take in two rounds of drafting on Tuesday and Wednesday. Despite that, he will still get his opportunity to prove himself to an NBA team.
When the forward came to Columbia from Duke ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, he said he wanted to get back to playing like himself, after facing some tough times in Durham, North Carolina. He achieved his goal and then some in his two seasons under head coach Dennis Gates. Following his senior season, Mitchell was named to the All-SEC Second Team for a second season in a row, which made him just the second player in program history to earn All-SEC honors twice since MU joined the league in 2012.
The Nuggets signee helped lead the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament in his farewell season in Columbia, as he led his team with 18.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. He’s now just the second player in school history to lead his team in scoring, rebounding and assists in the same season, joining Albert White in 1998-99. Mitchell was also one of just eight players nationally to total 600 points, 170 rebounds and 110 assists in his final collegiate season. His 18.3 points per game were the most by a Tiger in 12 years and ranked eighth in the Southeastern Conference and 76th nationally.
Down the stretch, Mitchell was everything for Coach Gates and company in the final few games of the 2025-26 season, as he averaged 23.7 points in the final seven games of the season and helped MU to the first round of the NCAA Tournament. That run included a pair of back-to-back 32-point games in the regular-season finale and in the SEC Tournament, making him the first Tiger to record back-to-back 32-point games since the 1987-88 campaign.
