NBA Draft expert ranks Jabari Smith as his fourth overall player
Is Jabari Smith the fourth most likely member of the 2022 NBA Draft class to be a superstar in the NBA?
According to Leif Thulin, the cohost of Locked On NBA Big Board, Jabari Smith is less likely to be a superstar than other top picks in the 2022 NBA Draft Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero, and Jaden Ivey.
Here's what he said when discussing his latest big board rankings.
As a college basketball fan, it was good for me to take a break and not rank while being influenced by players and their teams and just watching the film.
My opinion has changed a little bit so I wanted to release one that was fresh and not influenced by my college basketball-loving self and that is where my ranking of Jabari (Smith) at four differed from what I saw during the college season.
What I saw during the college season was the best shooting big man in college basketball. He was solid defensively on a team who at the time was top five in the nation for most of the year.
I think when I differentiate my love for what he brings to the table, and you can quote me from previous episodes, I had Jabari as my number one. With that said, my rationale is Jabari has the hardest time becoming the superstar.
In your first four picks what are you looking for? You're looking for a franchise, game-changing prospect. Jabari Smith could be that and I don't want to insult his potential of being that I just think the other three guys, Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero, and Jaden Ivey have more potential to become superstars.
This is a juicy take and one that won't be seen in many places. Smith appears to be a consensus top-two pick with Holmgren occasionally projected at the top spot to the Orlando Magic. If that were to happen, Smith landing with the Thunder with the second overall pick seems to be a no-brainer for most draft analysts.
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