Tag: jabari smith jr

Ranking the 23 best NBA players under 23 years old, with a FIBA World Cup star leading the pack

Where should Victor Wembanyama rank? Here’s the answer, along with the other best young NBA stars.

We are entering a new era of the NBA with Victor Wembanyama as one of several young stars vying to become the face of the league.

Now that the NBA’s 2023-24 season is less than a month away from tipping off, as we did last year, we have decided to re-rank the 23 best players who are under 23 years old.

But why 23? Well, it is not just because that was the number worn by Michael Jordan. Typically, NBA publications rank 25 players under 25 years old. You can read versions of that here, here, and here. I wanted to try out a similar thought experiment but with a new twist.

By the time NBA players are 25 years old, many have already graduated to their second contract and are in vastly different chapters of their careers than the league’s young players. It is harder to compare players like Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum, who will each earn more than $30 million next season, to players on rookie scale contracts.

The following rankings, meanwhile, are based predominantly on how we see NBA projections for next season. It is not as predictive of their future success or their potential in the league.

NOTE: For this exercise, all players included must be born after Oct. 24, 2000. 

Jabari Smith Jr. appears to say ‘he can’t guard me at all’ after lighting up James Wiseman

Lip readers think they saw Jabari Smith deliver some epic trash talk.

Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. had a tremendous game during NBA 2K24 Summer League on Sunday.

Smith finished with a game-high 38 points (13-25 FG, 9-10 FT) during a victory over the Pistons. He also added 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 1 block during the stellar performance.

But perhaps the most memorable moment of the match came when former No. 2 overall pick, James Wiseman, picked Smith up on the perimeter during the third quarter. Smith spotted up beyond the arc and received the ball, then nailed a dribble jumper for three points.

It was one of multiple field goals Smith made with Wiseman credited as the primary defender and it was beautiful to watch:

As he made his way back to the other end of the court, Smith appeared to say that Wiseman “can’t guard him at all” while maintaining eye contact with the Pistons bench.

Later in the quarter, Smith also beat Wiseman at the rim and drew contact for an and-one foul. It was a wonderfully encouraging sequence for the Houston forward.

Smith, who had an incredible buzzer-beater to secure the first victory for Houston during NBA 2K24 Summer League in Las Vegas, looks primed for a potential breakout campaign next season.

He will join a starting lineup that also includes the likes of Fred VanVleet, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and Alperen Sengun.

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Projected starting lineup for Rockets with Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks after free agency

Fred VanVleet is the first undrafted free agent to earn a contract worth more than $100 million. 

The Houston Rockets reportedly handed out the first max contract of free agency, per ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski, signing veteran guard Fred VanVleet.

The former undrafted free agent will leave the Raptors for a contract worth $130 million over three years, according to reports. VanVleet will bring an impressive resume as an NBA champion to a young core that includes rising stars like Amen Thompson, Jalen Green, Jabari Smith and Alperen Sengun.

VanVleet, who was named an NBA All-Star in 2022, became the first undrafted free agent to earn a contract worth more than $100 million.

Here is the remainder of the projected starting lineup for Houston next year:

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Jabari Smith Jr. had 1-emoji reply when Victor Wembanyama seemed happy Rockets didn’t win lottery

Wembanyama pumped his fist and Smith took note.

The San Antonio Spurs won the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery, which means they will have the option to select highly-touted prospect Victor Wembanyama.

Wembanyama wasn’t able to attend the event because his team is still playing overseas. But during the lottery event in Chicago on Tuesday night, there was a camera crew in France that followed Wembanyama and filmed his reactions as each team learned where they would select in the 2023 NBA Draft.

You can watch Wembanyama as he finds out that the Rockets would select at No. 4 overall in the 2023 NBA Draft. He pumps his fist and sure seems very happy about their placement:

Here is another angle:

This could have happened for any number of reasons, of course.

There were recent reports that some folks in league circles didn’t want Wembanyama to land in Houston, and there were several concerning stories that surrounded the culture in Houston this past season.

While the big man never publicly stated he didn’t want to play in Houston, Rockets rookie Jabari Smith tweeted a one-emoji response to the video of Wembanyama’s reaction:

Wembanyama, who had several ties to San Antonio even before the lottery, seemed thrilled that the Spurs won the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery.

San Antonio fans were expectedly elated about the news as well.

But in the process, Wembanyama may have accidentally created a new rivalry with Houston and Smith.

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Victor Wembanyama’s status as the unquestioned No. 1 pick has hilariously skewed NBA draft odds

These odds leave no doubt about the top of the draft. Not that there was any to begin with.

Victor Wembanyama might be the most hyped NBA prospect since LeBron James.

As such, he’s been the projected top pick of the 2023 NBA draft for quite some time. With the June draft finally within sight, betting odds are now available across different sportsbooks.

Before we get into those odds, I should mention that they may have been available sooner than today. With it a forgone conclusion that Wembanyama is the pick, I wasn’t exactly checking for them. But something made me click on the odds today, and what I saw was absolutely hilarious.

Wembanyama’s odds to go No. 1 at both DraftKings and FanDuel are -8000.

-8000!

A $100 bet at those odds would win you exactly $1.25. Enjoy your honey bun.

The next closest player is Scoot Henderson at +2500. Every other player at FanDuel has 200-1 odds.

No. 1 overall pick odds (FanDuel)

  • Victor Wembanyama -8000
  • Scott Henderson +2500
  • Rest of the field +20000

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Of course, none of this is surprising given what we know about Wembanyama and how the league views his potential. But it’s still funny to see a list full of players with +20000 and one guy at -8000.

By comparison, Paolo Banchero had -210 odds as the favorite on the day before last year’s draft. It wasn’t until Adrian Wojnarowski (incorrectly) reported hours before the draft that the Orlando Magic were leaning towards taking Jabari Smith Jr. that the favorite was dropped to -10000.

Four months out from this year’s draft, Wembanyama is already in that range. That’s how sure everyone is about him.

It makes you wonder why odds are even being offered. Barring something catastrophic, this isn’t a market worth exploring. The real question is which team ends up landing the privlege to draft Wembanyama with the top pick.

As of Tuesday morning, the San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets have the best odds at +550. The Charlotte Hornets (+600) and Magic (+900) are next.

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A mic’d up Jabari Smith Jr. hilariously burns LeBron James about his age: ‘You feel old, don’t you?’

This is a hilarious exchange.

Just how old is LeBron James at this point in his legendary NBA career?

Yes, he just turned 38, but my point is: He’s so old that he’s playing against players who are sons of guys he’s faced.

That’s the case with Jabari Smith Jr., the Houston Rockets pick who’s a rookie this season.

Smith faced off against James on Monday and was mic’d up. Check out the exchange below that he had with James in which he told LeBron that James’ first game was against his father.

“You feel old, don’t you?” Smith said.

Hilarious! This is such a fun moment that was captured:

Also, this is correct: James played against Smith Sr. (who didn’t play a minute) in his first game.

And then there was this moment after the game:

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Jabari Smith defended Giannis Antetokounmpo as well as you will ever see from an NBA rookie

The Rockets had the worst defense in the NBA last season. Jabari Smith can change that.

The Houston Rockets shockingly defeated the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday, and it was a statement victory by the rebuilding organization.

On a long-term basis, the Rockets may prefer losses over wins so they can be more firmly in the race for coveted prospect Victor Wembanyama. But being such a young team, they also need victories like what they earned on Sunday to grow and develop.

This was a particularly important game for Rockets rookie Jabari Smith Jr., who stripped and blocked Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo on back-to-back defensive possessions in the third quarter.

This game likely served as a massive confidence booster for Smith, who was selected No. 3 overall in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Smith went toe-to-toe against Antetokounmpo for the entirety of the game, defending the Milwaukee superstar for 44.2 partial possessions. That is the second-most possessions any player has guarded Antetokounmpo during the 2022-23 campaign, trailing only PJ Tucker on Nov. 18.

The results for Smith, who is still only 19 years old, were astonishing.

Antetokounmpo was 4-for-13 (30.7 percent) when defended by Smith on Sunday, per PBPStats. Some of his all-around defensive highlights against the six-time All-Star were as good as it gets:

When including data from last season, there are 31 games in which an opponent defended Antetokounmpo for at least 10 attempts from the field. Only two held the two-time NBA MVP to a lower field goal percentage.

Meanwhile, there are 48 games so far this season in which an opponent defended Antetokounmpo for at least 10 possessions. Only three of those defenders have held Antetokounmpo to a lower scoring average (18.1 points per 100 possessions) on those opportunities than Smith did.

Antetokounmpo finished the game on Sunday scoring just 16 points in 36 minutes, which is among his lowest points totals since 2017-18.

Smith was drafted by the Rockets largely because he is 6-foot-10 and still managed to shoot 42.0 percent on 3-pointers during his freshman season at Auburn.

But his defensive upside is clearly very high as well, and that’s great news for the Rockets, who had the worst defensive rating in the NBA last season.

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Eric Gordon was comically unfazed as teammates Jabari Smith, Jalen Green argued on the bench

Eric Gordon looked at them like they were strangers arguing in a McDonald’s.

When your coworkers are in the midst of a dispute, you have several different options you can take for how you want to handle the tension.

You can get involved, which could help alleviate the drama but could also exacerbate it. Or you can do nothing at all. Houston’s Eric Gordon has been around the league long enough to know what he wanted to do Monday night, which was to let his teammates figure it out amongst themselves.

The Rockets led the Jazz during the fourth quarter when rookie forward Jabari Smith Jr. and second-year guard Jalen Green were experiencing some tension.

The frustratration may have started during this possession:

Smith was shown emotively explaining something to Kevin Porter Jr., Kenyon Martin Jr., and Jalen Green.

After a moment or two passed, the rookie stood up as coaches and teammates had to stand between him and Green before nothing got out of control. While this was happening, the broadcast showed Gordon looking thoroughly bored.

 

The Rockets recently trotted out the youngest starting lineup in NBA history, and Gordon is 33 years old with 14 years of professional experience. He is in a totally different chapter of his career than the other players on the bench.

He looked at them like they were strangers arguing in a McDonald’s.

After the game, Green explained that “nothing at all” and that in the “heat of the moment” all that matters is getting a victory, which Houston was able to do.

Green also added that Smith is “super talented” and “very clutch” as well.

Both of the young players finished with 20+ points during the victory over the Jazz. So, too, did Porter. All three of these potential young stars appeared in For The Win’s 23 Best Player Under 23 Years Old rankings.

Perhaps the back-to-back top 3 picks, Smith and Green, were just arguing about who had a brighter future for the Rockets — who got their first win of the season despite the awkward dust-up.

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Chet Holmgren’s Rookie of the Year odds moved up after an incredible NBA Summer League debut

One game is all it took.

After just one NBA Summer League game, albeit a very impressive one, Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren’s odds to win Rookie of the Year have moved.

The No. 2 overall pick absolutely dominated in his almost-NBA debut, scoring 23 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-6 from three, to go with seven rebounds, four assists and a summer league-record six blocks. Apparently that was all people needed to see.

Holmgren’s already consensus top-three odds strengthened at a few sportsbooks, and at least one other book now has him as the betting favorite. The 7-footer jumped from +500 to +360 at FanDuel, according to Action Network, leaping top overall draft pick Paolo Banchero.

His odds held steady at +400 and third-shortest at Tipico Sportsbook, as they were after the draft, trailing Banchero at +300 and No. 3 pick Jabari Smith at +350. But other places saw more movement. Holmgren moved from +500 to +400 at BetRivers and +400 to +350 at Caesars.

Banchero is expected to make his summer league debut with the Magic on Thursday against Smith and the Rockets. No. 4 pick Jaden Ivey and No. 5 Keegan Murray — who has also shined in early action — have the next best odds.

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6 brilliant bettors won $450,000 total on the NBA Draft by avoiding the Jabari Smith and Paolo Banchero noise

The NBA’s newest rookies aren’t the only ones securing the bag after draft night.

Imagine what it must’ve been like for people who weeks ago bet on Jabari Smith Jr. to go No. 3 overall in the NBA Draft. Imagine what it would be like to place a couple thousand dollars on Paolo Banchero as the No. 1 pick, only to watch Adrian Wojnarowski tweet Thursday morning that the Duke star was likely going third.

It must have been terrifying. And worth it.

For a few bettors who dropped massive coin on Banchero and Smith wagers before the betting markets went haywire, Thursday night was as much a celebration of riches as it was the turning point in how drafts will be bet on forever.

Sometimes the group chat gets it right.

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