Charles Lee discusses Nick Smith Jr.'s career-best night in Toronto

Nick Smith Jr. is one of the most skilled basketball players on the Charlotte Hornets. The sophomore guard has a tight handle that complements his herky-jerky movements and reminds ball-knowers of some of the guards who ran the league in the early 2000s.

However, the game has changed since the days of baggy shorts and mid-range-centric attacks, so Smith Jr.'s effectiveness in an NBA comes into question more often than not.

Sure, he can score, but Smith has struggled to find consistent ways to impact winning basketball when his crossover isn't working and his jumper isn't falling.

That wasn't a problem on Wednesday night in Toronto.

Smith Jr. notches career highs across the board against the Raptors

Luka Doncic was great tonight, but Nick Smith Jr. got some buckets in Toronto. 28 points and 10 assists. pic.twitter.com/bDKqxdNM92
— Jonathan Smith 🗣🎙 (@__JonathanSmith) April 10, 2025

Everything came up NSJ in Wednesday night's lopsided loss that locked Charlotte into a share of the best odds to land Cooper Flagg. Smith Jr. notched career highs in points (28), rebounds (6), assists (10), field goals made (9), and three-pointers made (6). Here's what Charles Lee had to say about Nick Smith Jr.'s impressive outing.

🎙️ Charles Lee on Nick Smith Jr's performance:

"It's special to see. I'm so proud of Nick, and that's usually who he is. [...] I loved everything he gave our team. I was very proud of his response."

👌 28 PTS, 6 REB, 10 AST, 6 3PM pic.twitter.com/MC2WpJ0srp
— r/CharlotteHornets on Reddit (@HornetsReddit) April 10, 2025

"It's special to see. I'm so proud of Nick and that's usually who he is. I think after a night like last night, he wishes he would have played better. We talked about some things that he could do better to bring to the team and just for himself individually, and I thought today he came out with the right intentions and the purpose."

"Sometimes the stats can be deceiving, but tonight they don't lie at all. I thought he did it in a lot of different ways, some defensively, getting in there rebounding after we talked about how many offensive rebounds they were getting, and offensively he just took what they gave him."

With major question marks shrouding the future of, well, everyone on the Hornets' roster, NSJ could either secure his spot in next season's rotation or entice a rival franchise to trade for him this summer with a strong close to 2025. His next chance to build on his career-best outing will be on Saturday evening in Boston.

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