The 21-year-old guard out of Arkansas enters his third year in the league and has emerged as spark off the bench for the Lakers this season.
Smith Jr. played his first two seasons with the Charlotte Hornets. Now on a two-way contract for the Los Angeles Lakers, his competitive energy and ability to score the ball has been one of the more pleasant surprises of the Lakers’ season.
Smith Jr. this season is averaging 8.2 points per game and 40.4% from three in just 16.4 minutes a game. He’s also shooting a career high 44% from the field overall. In their most recent win over the Sacramento Kings, Smith Jr. scored 21 points on 5 of 10 shooting from three.
Impact and Player Comparison
While Nick is still evolving as a player and improving his craft, the resemblance of several players come to mind like Malik Monk and Lou Williams. He’s a quick, athletic 6’2 guard whose primary responsibility is to score the ball. He’s the “microwave” off the bench that can provide the team with scoring bursts when needed.
He’s more of a SG than a PG. He has the ability to both shoot off the ball and create his own shot either on the perimeter or while getting to his spots in the midrange area. In a season in which the Lakers are ranked last in bench points per game, having a player with Nick’s skillset becomes that much more valuable. He also has years of basketball development ahead of him to further solidify himself as a reliable role player in this league.
The injuries are piling on once again for the Lakers. Because they’ll be missing key guys like Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent and now rookie Adou Theiro, Nick Smith Jr. will be given even more of an opportunity to showcase his abilities with an increased role for the foreseeable future.
The Lakers take on the Memphis Grizzlies tonight at Crypto.Com Arena in what will be their first game of the new year.
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