On June 23, Beijing time, the 2022 NBA draft is approaching, and the focus of the league’s teams has also begun to shift in this direction. Looking at this year’s draft list, there are many newcomers worthy of attention.
The biggest advantage of Jabari Smith Jr. is his delicate shooting touch. As a player with the height of a power forward, he is an extremely good mid-to-long-distance spot-up shooter. This season, from beyond the three-point line, his hit rate reached 42.0%. It’s not just an open shot, but in a confrontation, his finishing ability is also good, and he can play a lot of simple and efficient pick-and-roll cooperation with guards.
In defense, Smith also has the potential to become an elite talent. His wingspan reaches 2.16 meters, and his lateral movement ability and switching ability are also relatively good. His court is full of dynamism, but he is not reckless. His solid basic skills and calm personality make him rarely gamble-style steals or blocks. He also has a great sense of position when defending with the ball, and can give opponents a certain sense of pressure. In addition, as a young man who has just passed the age of 19, Smith is also one of the best potential stocks in this rookie.
Disadvantage:
In the future, if he wants to become a star player in the NBA, the first thing Smith needs to do is to work harder on the ball. At present, his dribbling skills are not smooth and skilled enough. In addition, he relies too much on mid-to-long-range shots, and is obviously not aggressive enough near the three-second zone. Smith’s passing vision also needs to be improved, and he also needs to strengthen his awareness and ability in coping with the connection.
On the defensive end, Smith’s ability to protect the basket and rebound also needs to be improved. Although Smith’s overall data is good in his freshman season, the problem of his insufficient defensive confrontation has been covered up to a certain extent. Because in the Auburn University team, there is also the National Defensive Player of the Year Walker Kessler, so Smith was protected to a certain extent in the defense and did not stand the real test.
【Career Overview and Prospects】
Jabari Smith Jr. was born in a basketball family. His father, Jabari Smith Sr., played in the NBA for 4 seasons and played professional basketball overseas for 6 years. In addition, the former NBA champion Kwame Brown, who played for the Wizards, Lakers and other teams, is a distant relative of Smith.
Therefore, Little Smith was nurtured by a strong basketball atmosphere in his childhood, and inherited the genes of his parents. He also showed his talents on the court that were different from ordinary people at an early age.
Later, after hard training, Smith’s court battle continued to improve. When he was in high school in Tyrone in Fayette County, Georgia, he began to be targeted by the national scouting radar. By the third season of high school, Smith had averaged 24.5 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. In his senior season, he averaged 24 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks per game.
In the evaluation of many authoritative websites in the United States, Smith Jr. ranked 6th among the current five-star high school students, and he has also won awards from schools including the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, University of Tennessee and Louisiana State University. Recruited, but in the end, after several weighings, Smith chose Auburn.
Joining the university’s first game, Smith Jr. helped the team to a 23-point victory. In February of this year, he scored a career-high 31 points against Vanderbilt University. Throughout the season, Smith Jr. played in 34 games, all starting, averaging 28.8 minutes per game, scoring 16.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.1 steals, shooting 42.9% from the field and 42.0% from three.
And Auburn University also became the top team in the entire NBA because of Smith’s participation. After the season, Smith won the National College Basketball Best Rookie Award and was selected to the All-American Second Team. In addition, in his Southeast Division, he was also the Rookie of the Season, and was named to the Division’s All-Rookie Team and the Division’s All-NBA First Team.
At the beginning of April this year, Smith Jr. announced his participation in the draft. After that, his draft market skyrocketed, and now he is the number one candidate for the top pick this year. If he is finally selected as the No. 1 pick or the top three, he will also become the first top three rookie in Auburn University’s history. (Poirot)Return to Sohu, see more