Jabari Smith entered the season seen as a top-three pick in the NBA draft.
After a strong start to the season, he may be on his way to becoming a lock as a top-two selection.
Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated gave his thoughts in his “NBA Draft Stock Watch.”
“The major subplot to everything happening in Vegas last week was the continued emergence of Auburn’s Jabari Smith, who put together a trio of strong performances at the Battle 4 Atlantis and is building a legitimate argument as a potential No. 1 pick. While I wouldn’t venture to label anything as a consensus right now, I do think there’s increasing steam behind Smith’s taking his place as the No. 2 prospect in the minds of many of the league’s decision-makers, which was reflected in his placement in last week’s mock draft. Based on the buzz in Vegas and what we saw in the Duke-Gonzaga game, the prospect with the best chance to usurp Banchero at No. 1 is Smith, not Holmgren.”
Woo pointed out that Smith is younger than Holmgren and plays on both sides of the court. Woo recognizes that Smith is probably the second pick right now but his shot as the top pick isn’t out of the question.
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