Next Thursday, June 23, the NBA Draft 2022 will be held, an event in which the league’s teams will choose the great university and international prospects for the 2022-23 season. One name that resonates heading into the event is Jabari Smith, the heavy favorite to be the top pick in his class.
Here’s everything you need to know about this future NBA star.
Smith is a 19-year-old player who made an early impact with Georgia’s Sandy Creek High School, being featured as the best player in the state and receiving all sorts of accolades. He received a five-star recruiting rating from various companies and 97 points from ESPN.
He announced in 2020 that he would play for Auburn University, brushing aside offers from Georgia, LSU and North Carolina. With this decision he became the highest valued player by recruitment in the history of Auburn. After a season as a star of the team, he presented himself to the 2022 NBA Draft.
Throughout his rookie year Smith played a total of 34 games, being Auburn’s starting forward and playing just under 29 minutes per game. He averaged 16.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, maintaining an efficiency of 43% from the field, 42% from 3-point range and 80% from free throws.
He was named to the consensus NCAA All-Team, in addition to being the SEC’s Best Rookie, after leading Auburn to a conference-leading 15-3 record (28-6 in the nation).
The draft brings a very interesting generation of players in 2022 and the Orlando Magic will have to make the decision of who to choose after winning the first selection in the lottery. Chet Holmgrem and Paolo Banchero have been discussed as other options, but Smith would be the top pick by management, Bleacher Report suggested.
From early on, Smith has been seen as a future basketball star and the United States team already had his contribution in the Americas U-16 Championship in Brazil 2019, standing out for averaging 13.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, thus reaching the gold medal.
