Report: Thunder had promised to draft Jabari Smith Jr. at No. 2 overall

In an interview with Marc J. Spears of ESPN’s Andscape, the father of Houston Rockets rookie Jabari Smith Jr. says his son had a 2022 NBA draft promise from Oklahoma City that went unfulfilled.

“They called Chet Holmgren’s name, and he lost it,” Jabari Smith Sr., a former NBA player himself, 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.’”

The Thunder had drafted Holmgren at No. 2 overall, which caused Smith to fall to the Rockets at No. 3 in the first-round order.

While the story doesn’t elaborate on Oklahoma City’s reasons for making a promise that it didn’t ultimately keep, there’s a very plausible explanation. Until Orlando shocked the NBA world on draft night by selecting Duke’s Paolo Banchero at No. 1 overall, it was believed they were debating between Smith and Holmgren, with Smith widely viewed as the consensus favorite for the top spot.

Because Banchero wasn’t believed to be in serious consideration for the Magic, the Thunder likely didn’t anticipate a scenario where both Smith and Holmgren would be on the board for them at the No. 2 slot. Thus, they may not have anticipated much downside when it came to making a promise to both Holmgren and Smith.

But Orlando’s shocking choice made for chaos in the final minutes, and it sent Smith lower in the order than expected. Understandably, that led to emotional real-time scenes in the draft room.

For #Rockets rookie forward Jabari Smith, Jr., he has a mentor in a former NBA player that is guiding him through this challenging league. It’s his father. https://t.co/ebISPrw4l6 #nba #NBAAllStar

— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) February 15, 2023

Today, it’s far too early to tell whether Oklahoma City made the right decision. Smith is averaging 11.9 points and 7.0 rebounds in 29.9 minutes during his rookie season with the Rockets, while Holmgren has yet to play an NBA game after breaking his foot last summer.

Smith and the Rockets will play their fourth and final game of the 2022-23 season versus the Thunder on Wednesday night in Oklahoma City. Houston won two of those first three meetings, with its rookie forward averaging 11.7 points (44.4% FG, 35.7% on 3-pointers, 85.7% on free throws) and 7.7 rebounds during those games.