Rockets Marquee Games To Watch: Jabari Smith Jr. vs. Paolo Banchero
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Houston — When the Orlando Magic and Houston Rockets introduced Paolo Banchero and Jabari Smith Jr. to their respective franchises in June, it was not a surprise that two of the top three picks of the 2022 NBA Draft held their press conferences 963 miles apart.
But instead of taking questions from the media inside the Amway Center in Orlando, Smith sat next to Rockets general manager Rafael Stone participating in his introductory press conference at the Toyota Center.
The anticipated results of the draft flipped the night before when the Magic took Banchero with the top overall selection. Orlando's pick of Banchero came as a surprise. Everyone believed entering the draft that Smith would be the no. 1 pick, but the Magic went with the latter.
Five months later, Smith will have a chance to prove his worth as the best prospect of the draft when the Rockets take on the Magic during a road match on Nov. 7.
"[The draft] definitely added a chip — but God makes no mistakes, so I'm happy to be here," Smith said following his draft selection by the Rockets in June. "I'm happy to be where I'm wanted. I'm happy to get to Houston and just show them and give them what they picked."
The interconference match between the two rebuilding franchises will mark the first regular season meeting between Banchero and Smith. But it will not mark the first NBA meeting between the budding stars.
Banchero and Smith opened the 2022 Summer League tournament in Las Vegas, where the Rockets sustained a 91-77 defeat to the Magic inside the Thomas & Mack Center.
Banchero got the best of Smith. He scored a game-high 17 points in the win while shooting 41.6 percent from the field and killed the Rockets from inside and out with his scoring. Smith scored 10 points in the loss but credited nerves for his inadequate performance.
Smith was so adamant about his stock that he revealed the Monday before the draft he only worked out for the Magic and the Oklahoma City Thunder because he did not see himself falling below the second pick.
Following the Magic's selection of Banchero, the Thunder took Chet Holmgren with the no. 2 overall pick.
"I had a lot of people tell me that they knew exactly what was going to happen," Stone said when speaking to the media following the draft. "I always thought that was kind of funny because I didn't. We were ready for anything. There were a couple of phone calls to make. We made them. And we are really excited."
The Rockets split their two-game regular season contest against the Magic during the 2021-22 campaign.
Eric Gordon led the Rockets to a home victory on Dec. 3 with 24 points in the win. Former Rocket Christian Wood added his contributions with 20 points and 13 rebounds.
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