Former Terp Basketball Star Shines In Victory Over 76ers
In this story:
A former Maryland men's basketball star helped the Chicago Bulls get back to a .500 record after defeating the Philadelphia 76ers 109-102 on Friday evening at the United Center.
Jalen Smith (25) had a thunderous play that helped ignite the Bulls (15-15) on a key fourth-quarter run that led them to their fifth straight victory, matching a season-high.
Smith received a pass in the left corner, driving down the baseline for a facial one-handed slam over Sixers star Joel Embiid. The Bulls trailed 102-101 after the dunk, but proceeded to go on a 10-0 run to end the game.
ALL. THE. ANGLES.
— NBA (@NBA) December 27, 2025
JALEN SMITH'S POSTER SLAM HAD US LIKE: 🤯 https://t.co/MbURtX14Fp pic.twitter.com/JjBRU15mae
Stix played 22 minutes off the bench, finishing with a stat line of 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field, 2-for-4 from the three-point line, eight rebounds, three assists, one block, and a game-high plus-24 rating when on the floor.
Smith's game has always been described as one in which he's a long, athletic stretch big man with an outside jumper. Picked high in the 2020 draft by the Phoenix Suns, with the tenth overall pick, Smith was expected to join the likes of Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton, who were forming a nice young rebuilding core.
However, Smith never really got a real shot in Phoenix to get consistent playing time to develop, especially after Phoenix drastically improved after a COVID-2020 bubble tournament run and 50-win season in 2021 that catapulted them into title contention.
Smith was later moved to Indiana during the 2021 season, where he spent the next three seasons developing into the high-energy, two-way big man off the bench who could play big minutes in key stretches of the game.
Smith averaged 10.2 points, six rebounds, and one assist on 53% shooting from the field and 35% from three with Indiana.
In the summer of 2024, Smith signed a three-year pact with the Bulls, where he now plays a key role in the youth movement the franchise has elected to pursue to climb back up the ranks of the Eastern Conference.
The 2025 season for Stix and Bulls has been an interesting one, to say the least. It began with Chicago subverting expectations, starting 6-1 atop the East. However, the team hit a rough patch, dropping five in a row and seven in another. But after winning six of the past seven contests recently, they've climbed back up the standings into play-in territory at the ninth seed.
It's been a team effort, with not only the starters producing but the depth standing out, with guys such as Smith, another former Terp, Kevin Huerter, Tre Jones, Ayo Dosunmu, and more.
More from Maryland on SI
Stay up to date with the Terrapins by bookmarking Maryland On SI
Jaden's sports journalism career began at the College of Southern Maryland from 2022-2023, where he was brought in to cover baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball at CSM. In late 2023, he began interning at the University of Maryland Athletics Department as a contributing writer to help develop feature stories and game recaps. He also creates his own sports media content on professional Washington teams with LegacyMaker Sports Network.