Former Top 3 Pick Says Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo Gave Him Welcome to NBA Moment

Apr 29, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) shoots the ball while Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) defends during game five of the first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

A recent former top-three lottery pick recalls that his encounter with nine-time All-NBA Milwaukee Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo supplied his inaugural "welcome to the NBA" moment, initiating him into the league at large.

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Houston Rockets power forward Jabari Smith Jr. was the No. 3 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft behind All-Star Orlando Magic power forward Paolo Banchero and champion Oklahoma City Thunder center/power forward Chet Holmgren.

During an appearance on the podcast "The Young Man & The Three" earlier this week, Smith unpacked their meeting.

“Oh my gosh, I remember this like it was yesterday,” Smith told New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III of his "welcome to the NBA" moment.

Upon entering Houston's team locker room that fateful night, Smith noticed that on the team whiteboard, he had been tasked with defending Antetokounmpo.

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“Like, we in film. We prepping. Like, we obviously saying, ‘Build a wall,’” Smith said. “It was no wall the whole game. Like, I feel like I was on an island. I’m coming to the bench mad. I’m like, ‘Where everybody at?’”

Antetokounmpo went all-out in that initial clash. The two-time league MVP logged a 44-point, 12-rebound double-double in besting the Rockets 125-105.

“Like, he coming full speed. Euro step. Dunk,” Smith said. “Like, it was just nothing I could do. Like, you know what I’m saying? Like, he was posting up. I’m trying to front. It was just nothing I could do, honestly. So, it was just — that was a very, very ‘Welcome to the NBA’ moment.”

“He plays hard as s---,” Jabari explained. “Like, anytime I’ve played him, he plays the same. Like, he’s crashing the glass. Like, you don’t see that from, like, top five players in the league. And, like, just the — the energy you’re exerting — like, he playing hard, like, as hell.”

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