Jabari Smith Jr. In Awe By Giannis Antetokounmpo's Play vs. Rockets
HOUSTON — During media day in September, Houston Rockets rookie Jabari Smith Jr. admitted that Giannis Antetokounmpo was one of a handful of players he was looking forward to playing.
Saturday night, Smith played against Antetokounmpo for the first time amid the Rockets' 125-105 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. And Antetokounmpo's performance inside the Fiserv Forum arena left Smith in awe.
"It was fun," Smith said. "Matching up against him and competing against him, just to see how he is, it was fun."
In the win over the Rockets, Antetokounmpo scored 44 points on 17-of-21 shooting from the field. He also added 12 rebounds to his MVP-caliber play — all while playing 28 minutes against Houston.
The Highlight of his night took place at the 10:12 mark of the second quarter when Antetokounmpo completed a dunk over the top of Smith, Alperen Sengun and Garrison Mathews. Antetokounmpo's dunk gave the Bucks a 43-26 lead over the Rockets.
Antetokounmpo used his physicality to move Smith out of the way en route to his dunk attempt.
Given the similarities between the two players as rookie prospects, Smith has the desire to improve his play and stature throughout his career — similar to Antetokounmpo's enhancements since 2013.
"I've been going hard in the weight room knowing that my body could one day look like his," Smith said. "Just keep working in the weight room and getting stronger because you know what type of advantage it is."
Smith recorded the first double-double of his career with 13 points on 5-of-15 shooting, 3-of-7 from behind the arc and 11 rebounds.
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