Jabari Smith Jr. has become a complementary player rather than the centerpiece expected with his draft status, but it’s paid off for him and the Rockets.
Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle
This wasn’t exactly how Jabari Smith Jr. envisioned his career.
Growing up, the Houston Rockets’ forward was usually the best player on his team. They catered to him and his playstyle — he got the ball when he wanted it, where he wanted it and with a green light to shoot. It worked. ESPN ranked Smith Jr. the No. 6 player in his recruiting class. He was a second-team All-American and SEC freshman of the year in his lone season at Auburn, leading Houston to take him with the No. 3 pick in the 2022 draft.
“I came in the league thinking I was gonna be a scorer and thinking I was gonna be somebody who gets the ball every play, plays drawn up for him,” Smith Jr. said. “But that just wasn’t how it went.”
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Instead, the Rockets have used Smith Jr. as a complementary piece. He has started every game he played this season but is the clear fourth option on offense, often parked in the corner as a spot-up shooter. Some people would have sulked or pouted, letting the role change defeat them, he said. He chose to adapt instead.
Smith Jr. found ways to impact the game outside of his scoring. He’s become an impactful rebounder and defender, guarding both on the interior and perimeter. Coach Ime Udoka called him a “luxury” to insert in any lineup — and seemingly at any spot.
At 6-foot-10 with a strong jump shot, Smith Jr. can slot in anywhere from an oversized shooting guard to a small-ball center. He is one of just four players this season — and 17 ever — to make at least 170 3-pointers and block at least 70 shots, per Basketball Reference. Houston rewarded his sacrifice, signing him to a five-year, $122 million extension that kicks in next season, a deal Smith Jr. is on pace to outproduce.
His contributions and versatility could be key entering the playoffs, with both Smith Jr. and the Rockets searching for an elusive title.
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Getting to this point took both player and team time. Houston lost 60 games in Smith Jr.’s first season and he struggled, shooting just 40.8% from the field and 30.7% on threes.
He grinded over that offseason and showed those improvements in two Summer League games, averaging 35.5 points per game in Las Vegas. Smith Jr. hoped the performance would lead the recently-hired Udoka to expand his offensive role. It didn’t happen, leading to a pivotal crossroads in the young forward’s career a couple months into his second year.
Smith spoke with his father, Jabari Smith Sr., and agent, Wallace Prather, about how to approach his dissatisfaction. Prather preached patience, noting that even the appearance of personal agendas amid a successful season — Houston was en route to a 19-win improvement — wouldn’t be a good look. Smith Sr. recalled the agent explaining that vocalizing discontent might lead Smith Jr. to take on a villain role, leading to increased scrutiny.
“You can’t run your mouth when you’re winning,” Smith Sr. said. “You’d look like a fool to complain about your role.”
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Prather advised his client to speak with Udoka and express his desire for increased responsibilities on both ends of the floor.
Smith Jr. said unhappiness didn’t lead him to seek the meeting — it was more an opportunity to find out what his new head coach wanted from him. Udoka told him to play harder and not settle for jumpshots as often. The coach also encouraged Smith Jr. to be aggressive on both ends.
They had a similar conversation before this season, with Smith Jr. asking to assume more defensive responsibility with former stalwart Dillon Brooks traded to the Phoenix Suns. Smith Jr. has also seen slightly increased offensive responsibilities this season, with career-high rates running isolation and pick and rolls, per NBArapm.com.
“Jabari is the ultimate pro and a selfless player,” Udoka said. “He understands what the team needs and provides a bunch of different roles for the team but as most young guys are, he’s ambitious.”
Smith Jr. is a winner, former teammate and childhood friend Deshon Proctor said.
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Smith Jr.’s motivation stems in part from losing the Georgia 3A state championship game in his senior year with Tyrone Sandy Creek. He and Proctor rewatched the game on a whim a couple years ago. Both remain baffled by the defeat.
“If we play them 20 more times, we’ll probably beat them 19 times out of the one time they beat us,” Smith Jr. said. “You think it’s that simple. The team that’s better is supposed to win, but it comes down to fight and comes down to so many different things. And I’ve learned that, and I know that me being on this level, and knowing those things I know I will win the championship one day.”
With that being the case, a reporter offered Smith Jr. a blind résumé for an active NBA player.
Player X was never an All Star and averaged about 16 points, six rebounds and three assists per game this season. He was a key piece on a recent title team, beloved by fans, and will finish his career with more than $200 million in earnings. Would Smith Jr. be happy with that outcome for himself?
“Yeah obviously, I’ll be happy with it,” he said, correctly guessing the player as Denver Nuggets wing Aaron Gordon. “But I still got dreams. I got aspirations. I got things I want to accomplish in this league.”
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Gordon’s career unfolded differently than Smith Jr. He was drafted by the Orlando Magic and started with a featured role, only downsizing after being traded to Denver.
Udoka had a different comparison for Smith Jr.’s development arc.
“Reminds me of Kawhi Leonard back in the day,” Udoka said. He was an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs for much of Leonard’s tenure. The forward started as a role player before emerging into one of the league’s best two-way talents.
“When you talk to Kawhi now,” Udoka said, “he’s pissed about standing in the corner for three years. He felt like he wasted some years, but I think the growth and progression that we had in San Antonio — to become a spot-up shooter to a pick-and-roll guy to a post-and-isolation guy — was good for him, instead of just throwing him in there when he wasn’t ready for it. A little bit of that with Jabari.”
That is of course an unlikely outcome — Leonard is one of the singular talents of the past 20 years. But it isn’t impossible, especially with Smith Jr. just 22 and holding onto desires of being a multi-time All Star and champion.
“If it happens, it happens. It’s not something I’m going to search for or I got to have. I want to be able to put the work in where I’m at and it happens naturally,” he said. “… I have aspirations. Everybody has aspirations to have their own team and accomplish those type of things. But it’s not something that I’m trying to navigate or get to. I think where I’m at, I can keep getting better.”