Zhaire Smith is Available for 76ers on Tuesday vs. Warriors

The last season and a half have been tough for former Texas Tech shooting guard, Zhaire Smith. As he entered the NBA as a first-round pick last season, the young wing fell into what many considered to be a common curse for high-profile rookies in Philly.

At first, it didn't seem like Smith would debut at all during his first season. Considering he broke his foot before he was able to play last season, many were under the assumption he wasn't going to actually debut for the Sixers in 2018.

Fortunately, that wasn't the case. While Smith missed the majority of the year last season, the Sixers managed to get him on the court for six games towards the final stretch. His 6.7 points-per-game, along with two starts left many curious about how he would perform during his Sophomore effort.

But Sixers' head coach Brett Brown hasn't been as curious. This year, Smith spent the first half of the season playing for the Sixers' G-League affiliates, the Delaware Blue Coats. If it weren't for a Josh Richardson hamstring injury last Wednesday, Smith would most likely still be in Delaware as opposed to playing with the Sixers.

This past weekend, though, the Sixers were gearing up to unleash Smith finally. After making his NBA debut for the year on Saturday, Smith ended up tweaking his ankle. So with only three minutes of playing time on the court, the sophomore's night was a wrap.

A sprained ankle was the official diagnosis for Zhaire Smith on Saturday night. The second-year guard wasn't able to practice on Monday morning, but his questionable status for Tuesday's game against Golden State has been upgraded to available.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_