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Nick Smith Jr. took full advantage of first career NBA start

Hornets guard turned his first start into one of the best games of his career.
Austin Leake|
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Charlotte Hornets

Nick Smith Jr has been waiting for his time for some time now, as he has spent the majority of this season with the Swarm in Greensboro or on the Hornets bench. Over the course of the last couple of weeks, Smith has been receiving rotational minutes and has done a solid job of keeping those minutes.

The recent injury to Brandon Miller provided the opportunity for Nick Smith Jr. to receive the first start of his NBA career, and he certainly took full advantage of it. Smith scored 15 points in the game and made six field goals and three triples.

He is known for being a three-point shooter, which makes his three made field goals outside of the three-point shot a major bright spot. Before the game, 18 of his 34 made field goal attempts came from beyond the arc.

Smith played 26 minutes in the matchup and also recorded five rebounds in the Hornets' win versus Chicago. The 20-year-old has started to gain more confidence recently, as he poured in an 18-point performance off the bench a little over a week ago in Cleveland.

Trade rumors have recently surrounded the Hornets roster after the Hornets traded Nick Richards to the Phoenix Suns. With that came more rumors of other players like Smith being potentially shopped by the team, but with performances like Friday night, that conversation may be short -ived and no longer.

Brandon Miller may miss the rest of the season, which means Nick Smith Jr. could see his name in the starting lineup more often down the stretch. That opportunity could be exactly what he needs to fully grasp the game, as he's still just 20 years old.

The maturity he has shown at such a young age is something special. That's one of the main reasons why Coach Lee has been so impressed with him, even dating back to the Summer League in July.

In that post-game interview, you can just hear the overall confidence he has in his own game and the work he has put in when nobody is watching. For a young player like Smith Jr, he's setting himself up for a really solid NBA career with the hard work and competitive spirit he shows on and off the court.

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Austin Leake
AUSTIN LEAKE

Austin Leake is a graduate of High Point University, where he majored in sports media, minored in social media marketing, and continued his education in the CBL Master's Program. Austin has covered the Hornets since 2017 and joined the Charlotte Hornets On SI in June of 2022. His coverage primarily features game previews and recaps, monthly mailbags, and more.

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