2024 NBA Draft: Projected First-Round Pick Tyler Smith is Ready to Impact Winning as Rookie

The Ignite forward has the experience, frame and skillset to make an instant impact and earn minutes as a rookie next season.

Feb 16, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Team Pau center Victor Wembanyama (1) of the San Antonio / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

In every draft, there’s a handful of players who are able to make an instant impact on winning for playoff-caliber teams. Even in generally limited roles, these are the types of players who come in with NBA-ready frames and understand how to do the little things to impact winning. They don’t have to score at a high volume to earn minutes. 

When looking at the players in this upcoming draft class, Tyler Smith sticks out a likely candidate to do just that in the 2024-25 season. Not only did he deveop in a professional system at Overtime Elite as a high schooler, but he also spent the recent season in the G League playing for Ignite. The level of competition has been very high for him the past few years, while also working with some of the best trainers and coaches along the way.

Even outside of playing against G League and NBA players last season with Ignite, Smith also got exposure to the next level at events like NBA All-Star Weekend. He was able to play against some of the best young players in the world who are already at the NBA level, which is yet another experience that seems small but can make a difference later as a rookie.

Smith is also built like an NBA player already. He's 6-foot-11 with a developed frame and the strength to make an impact from day one in the NBA. Combine that with the fact that he projects to be a quality perimeter shooter and possesses guard skills and it's easy to imagine him being in the regular season rotation for a top team next season. He also understands how to fill the role he is needed on a given night and is versatile from a lineup standpoint.

Luckily for Smith, he’s projected to go late in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft where the franchises selecting will mostly be teams expected to be very competitive next season. As such, it's very likely he will have the opportunity to prove himself on a winning team as a first-year player.

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