Tony Mitchell (basketball, born 1989)

Tony Mitchell
Born	(1989-08-07) August 7, 1989 United States
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	2009–present
Known for	Playing for Beirut Club in the Lebanese Basketball League; collegiate basketball at University of Alabama; naturalized Libyan citizen (2023)

Tony Rasean Mitchell Jr. (born August 7, 1989) is a professional basketball athlete, originally from the United States and now a naturalized Libyan citizen, currently playing for Beirut Club in the Lebanese Basketball League. He competed at the collegiate level for the University of Alabama and acquired Libyan nationality in 2023.

High school career

During his junior year at Swainsboro High School, Mitchell posted averages of 19 points, eight rebounds, and five blocks per game, which earned him the 2007 Georgia Sports Writers Association Class AA Player of the Year along with all-state recognition. For his senior season, he transferred to Central Park Christian in Birmingham, Alabama, where he averaged 27 points, eight rebounds, and five assists while guiding the team to a national championship in 2008. Considered a four-star recruit, he was ranked as the #10 small forward by Scout.com and #8 by Rivals.com.

College career

In June 2007, Mitchell committed to play under head coach Mark Gottfried at the University of Alabama, selecting Alabama over offers from University of South Carolina and University of Cincinnati. Due to academic eligibility issues, he delayed his enrollment and instead spent the 2008–09 season at Central Park Christian prep school.

At Central Park Christian, he was instrumental in leading the team to an undefeated 25–0 record and capturing the National Christian Education Basketball Tournament championship. Despite changes in Alabama’s coaching staff, Mitchell joined the Crimson Tide roster for the 2009–10 season under new head coach Anthony Grant.

As a freshman, Mitchell appeared in 18 games with 18 starts, averaging 23 minutes per contest for the (17–15) Crimson Tide squad. Notably, he scored 23 points on an efficient 10-of-14 shooting performance during his second collegiate game against Jackson State. He finished the season averaging 9.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, recording three double-doubles, including a standout effort of 10 points and 12 rebounds versus Kentucky in the SEC Tournament. His achievements earned him SEC Freshman of the Week honors, Alabama’s Most Outstanding Freshman award, and a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team.

In his sophomore campaign (2010–11), Mitchell led Alabama across multiple statistical categories including scoring, rebounding, steals, and minutes played. On February 21, he was recognized as SEC Player of the Week after averaging 20 points and 6.5 rebounds during victories over LSU and Arkansas, highlighted by a career-best 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting against Arkansas. He secured second-team All-SEC honors but was subsequently suspended due to conduct detrimental to the team and later released from the program.

Professional career

Following the 2012 NBA draft, in which he went undrafted, Mitchell took part in the 2012 NBA Summer League with the Sacramento Kings. By November 2012, he signed with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. During March 2013, he captured the D-League Dream Factory Dunk Contest title and earned the distinction of 2013 NBA D-League Rookie of the Year. Additionally, he received two NBA D-League Performer of the Week awards and was honored as March's Co-Player of the Month.

In May 2013, Mitchell competed for the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters during the Commissioner's Cup. That summer, he played in the Orlando Summer League representing the Boston Celtics and later joined the Las Vegas Summer League with the New York Knicks. October 2013 saw him signing with China’s Jilin Northeast Tigers; however, after participating in 11 games, he departed and rejoined the Mad Ants in January 2014.

On March 4, 2014, Mitchell secured a 10-day contract with the Milwaukee Bucks but was not retained beyond that period. He returned to Fort Wayne and contributed to their triumph in the 2014 NBA D-League championship. In July, he represented the NBA D-League Select Team during Summer League play.

Mitchell inked a deal on August 18, 2014, with Italian side Dolomiti Energia Trento for the 2014–15 campaign. Over 34 games, he led Serie A in scoring with an average of 20.1 points per contest while also posting 5.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, earning him Serie A MVP honors.

In September 2015, he signed with Russian outfit Krasny Oktyabr to compete in both the VTB United League and Eurocup Basketball. Averaging 21.4 points per game, he parted ways with the team in November. Later that month, Mitchell joined Spanish club CB Estudiantes for the remainder of that season but left after six appearances. January 2016 marked his return to Italy when he signed with Dinamo Basket Sassari; he departed from Sassari in May. Subsequently, in May, he moved to China to play for Hebei Xianglan during their NBL season.

In November 2016, Mitchell committed to Israeli team Hapoel Eilat B.C., leaving after five games. He then signed with Australia’s Cairns Taipans in January 2017 for the rest of that NBL season but received a ban for the entire next season due to an on-court incident.

Mitchell continued his career by joining Puerto Rico’s Indios de Mayagüez for the BSN season in May 2017. In October of that year, he obtained a training camp contract with the Miami Heat but was waived shortly thereafter and subsequently acquired by their G League affiliate, Sioux Falls Skyforce.

In April 2018, Mitchell signed with Puerto Rican team Santeros de Aguada, appearing in ten contests before being released. August saw his return to Italy as he joined Pallacanestro Cantù. By February 2019, he transferred to OriOra Pistoia.

Continuing internationally, Mitchell signed with Venezuelan club Trotamundos de Carabobo in June 2019 and later moved to Moroccan side AS Salé in February 2020. December of that year brought a contract with Argentine team Peñarol de Mar del Plata.

In October 2021, Mitchell joined TaiwanBeer HeroBears of Taiwan's T1 League. The subsequent year featured stints with Bahraini clubs Al-Muharraq SC followed by Al-Bahrain. In August 2023, he signed with Lebanese outfit Beirut Club.

January 2024 saw Mitchell signing with Libyan club Al Ahly Benghazi before transferring to Egyptian powerhouse Al Ahly Cairo for the 2024 BAL season, where he debuted impressively with an output of 11 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.

In October 2024, Mitchell became part of Argentina’s Unión de Santa Fe but exited early November. Later that month, he returned to Bahrain’s Al-Muharraq. On September 11, 2025, he made a comeback to Lebanon’s Beirut Club.

National team involvement

In December 2023, Mitchell obtained Libyan citizenship through naturalization, enabling him to participate in the 2023 Arab Basketball Championship.

NBA

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Milwaukee | 3 || 0 || 3.3 || .600 || .000 || .750 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 0.0 || 2.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Overall | 3 || 0 || 3.3 || .600 || .000 || .750 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 0.0 || 2.0

Collegiate

Statistics sourced from Sports Reference.

|- | style="text-align:left;"|2009–10 | style="text-align:left;"|Alabama | 30 || 18 || 23.3 || .487 || .263 || .586 || 5.9 || 0.6 || 1.3 || 0.7 || 9.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2010–11 | style="text-align:left;"|Alabama | 37 || 32 || 31.5 || .522 || .316 || .658 || 7.1 || 1.3 || 1.6 || 1.1 || 15.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2011–12 | style="text-align:left;"|Alabama | 22 || 21 || 31.1 || .450 || .311 || .615 || 7.0 || 1.8 || 1.0 || 1.4 || 13.1 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Total | 89 || 71 || 28.6 || .493 || .301 || .630 || 6.7 || 1.2 || 1.4|| 1.0||12.7

External links

• Tony Mitchell at nba.com
• Tony Mitchell at legabasket.it
• Tony Mitchell at rolltide.com