When Auburn product Jabari Smith Jr. went through the NBA’s pre-draft process in 2022, some analysts compared his game to that of Kevin Durant.
While it’s probably unreasonable to expect Smith to be a 15-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer, there are at least some underlying characteristics that are similar. Both are extremely long and versatile forwards who entered the NBA with projections to be elite shooters for their size.
With the 36-year-old Durant, those projections have become reality and then some. For Smith, who is still just 22 years old as he enters his fourth NBA season, it’s very much a work in progress.
But now that both players are teammates on the 2025-26 Houston Rockets, there’s hope that perhaps Smith can learn a thing or two from Durant about how to use his unique skill set.
In an exclusive interview with Space City Home Network’s Vanessa Richardson, the team’s courtside reporter for televised game broadcasts, Smith said:
I’m really excited. Kevin Durant is one of the greatest players to ever touch a basketball. It’s going to be great for me to learn from him, and see what he does, day-to-day… and just soak up as much game as I can. It’s going to be fun playing alongside him and going to battle with him.
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Richardson followed up by asking Smith about what he’d most like to learn from the former Most Valuable Player (MVP) and two-time champion (NBA Finals MVP in both years).
Smith responded (via Rockets All Access, SCHN):
Honestly, just different ways to get to the best thing I have, which is the jump shot. Different ways to get to it, and different ways to be effective and get to your spots. That’s really what I want to learn from him the most. You see how he does it, and how easy he makes it look. I know it’s not going to be easy, and it’s going to take some work. But I’m excited to learn from him and grow.
Smith earned a lucrative five-year contract extension ($122 million) this offseason, and the Durant trade has Smith poised to return to Houston’s starting lineup. That’s because the Rockets sent out two starters (Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks) in the deal bringing Durant to Houston.
So, in effect, the Rockets — who finished last season at 52-30 and No. 2 in the Western Conference standings — are swapping out Green and Brooks in their starting lineup for Durant and Smith. That type of upgrade to a team that was already good, along with the arrival of established role players such as Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela to play off the bench, has many around the league thinking that Houston could have championship potential in 2025-26.
A breakout year from Smith would further add to that possibility. The 6-foot-10 forward averaged 12.2 points (43.8% FG, 35.4% on 3-pointers) and 7.0 rebounds in 30.1 minutes per game last season, and he was also one of the most valuable and versatile defensive players for a Houston team that finished among the NBA’s top-five defenses.
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: As Houston teammates, Jabari Smith wants to learn from Kevin Durant