2022 NBA Draft: Houston Rockets select Jabari Smith, Auburn forward

Auburn forward Jabari Smith is off the board in the 2022 NBA Draft. With the No. 3 pick of the first round, Smith was selected by the Houston Rockets.

Heading into the draft, Smith was a consensus top-three pick after bursting onto the scene for Auburn this past season. He averaged 16.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game while shooting 42.9% from the field, including 42% from three-point territory, as a freshman in 2021-22. As a result, he was named the National Freshman of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and was a second team All-American.

Smith was a big piece for Auburn in 2021-22, helping lead the Tigers to a 28-6 overall record, a 15-3 record in SEC play and, at one point, the program’s first-ever No. 1 ranking during the regular season. Auburn wound up as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament field, eventually falling to Miami in the round of 32.

Out of high school, Smith was a five-star recruit and the No. 6 prospect in the nation from the class of 2021, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

What NBA Draft analysts are saying about Jabari Smith

Ahead of the 2022 NBA Draft, Smith was seen as a potential No. 1 overall pick. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony offered his scouting report, saying Smith has some weaknesses that will need to be worked out in the NBA.

“After 34 games, playing against an elite strength of schedule, NBA teams know exactly the type of prospect Smith is,” Givony said. “Still, only two players over 6-6 have ever been drafted in the lottery after shooting under 45% from 2-point range (Cam Reddish and Ziaire Williams), and Smith’s lack of explosiveness, extreme reliance on difficult jumpers and inability to create easy shots for himself or others inside the arc reared its head several times in this game, as it has all season.”