Philadelphia 76ers guard Zhaire Smith has had to battle a lot of adversity through his first two seasons in the NBA. From a tough rookie season where he only played six games due to a Jones fracture and then an allergic reaction followed by a second season where he was jumped in the rotation by rookie Matisse Thybulle and sent to the G League, one can understand why his development has been slow.
One also has to consider the fact that Smith actually played power forward in college with the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Yes, the 6-foot-3 jumping jack was battling with the big men down low before having to transition to shooting guard at the NBA level. So, in order to prepare to play the 2-guard spot, he watched a lot of guards to learn how to play the position when he jumped on The Bell Ringer Podcast hosted by Sixers Wire.
“I study film of all players in the NBA. Present and past,” said Smith. “I like watching present highlights so I watch Kobe (Bryant) highlights and just underrated players like John Starks and just old school players.”
This is all so new to him for a kid as young as he is. He had to watch those aforementioned players and have them teach him how to really play the shooting guard position at the highest level of basketball.
“At Tech, I was playing the 4 and when I decided to enter my name in the draft and stay in the draft, I immediately got on my ball-handling real quick,” he explained. “The G League helped with that. I got tons of reps in and I just feel like I’m continuing to progress and getting better at it playing only two years of guard.”
That is why it is taking Smith some time to really claim a spot in the team’s rotation. Not only did he essentially lose a year due to the adversity thrown at him as a rookie, but he also had to learn an entirely new position and that is why he has to grind harder than everybody else.
“First, coming out of Tech, having to transition to a guard, then I got hurt so I had to bounce back, it’s just a lot of adversity,” he added. “But I’m still grinding and continuing to get better so it’s all a matter of time.”
Smith has played seven games with the Sixers in 2019-20 and has played 33 games for the Delaware Blue Coats where he has averaged 13.5 points and 3.1 rebounds while shooting 37.6% from deep and 53.0% from the floor overall. The grind will never stop for the young 20-year old and he is learning that by watching Michael Jordan’s “The Last Dance”.
Smith on what he has learned from watching that: “Just keep grinding by all means necessary.” [lawrence-related id=30295,30301,30286]