In Marc J. Spears’ latest feature on Houston Rockets rookie Jabari Smith Jr., an interesting piece of information was revealed.
Jabari Smith Sr. told Spears his son was devastated the Oklahoma City Thunder passed on him for Chet Holmgren with the No. 2 pick, saying his son was given a draft promise by them.
“Jabari Smith Jr. was crushed because he expected to be taken. The former Auburn University forward went from being projected as the potential No. 1 draft pick to being passed over twice.
Jabari Smith Sr. noticed that his son was crumbling emotionally. Smith Jr.’s legs shook so hard it made the table jump in the NBA draft’s green room at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The elder Smith grabbed his son’s leg and said some words of wisdom to calm him and put it all quickly in perspective.
‘So, they called Chet Holmgren’s name, and he lost it,’ Smith Sr. told Andscape. ‘Leg went to shaking. I looked at him. He is almost in tears. And I forgot that he told me that OKC (promised to draft him), so I got to keep my mouth closed about that. I talked to him, ‘Well, hey, what are you doing? Straighten your face, man. You good, you good, you good.’ You know the camera was right at the table …
‘First of all, you’re a millionaire. Second of all, I don’t think he understand the numbers of how many people in the world that play basketball who would love to just be in this room. It’s a blessing. It’s a (heck) of a day.'”
How truthful Smith Sr. is being is up for interpretation. There were various reports at the time that contradict OKC’s supposed interest in Smith Jr. and that they were solely eyeing Holmgren for the entire draft process.
It is interesting, though, that Smith Jr. reportedly wanted to be drafted by the Thunder. This could likely explain his defeated reaction to not going top two.
Jabari Smith Jr. reacting after Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren went No. 1 and 2 in the #NBADraft pic.twitter.com/HpkZJHEwRd
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 24, 2022
This could also explain why NBA insider Chris Haynes tweeted that the Thunder selected Smith Jr. with the second overall pick before quickly deleting it.
The timing of this report coincides with the Thunder set to play the Rockets in their final game before the All-Star break.
Smith Jr. has struggled this season, averaging 11.9 points on 38.8% shooting and 30.1% 3-point shooting. Holmgren will not play this season while recovering from a Lisfranc injury he suffered during the offseason.
