Jabari Smith Jr.'s Dad Says Thunder Made Draft Promise Before Chet Holmgren Pick

The Oklahoma City Thunder's decision to select Chet Holmgren with the No. 2 overall pick of the 2022 NBA draft apparently came as a stunner to Jabari Smith Jr. thanks to a promise.

Smith's father, Jabari Smith Sr., told Marc J. Spears of Andscape that his son, who ended up going No. 3 to the Houston Rockets, was upset when the Thunder selected Holmgren because of that promise:

"So, they called Chet Holmgren's name, and he lost it. Leg went to shaking. I looked at him. He is almost in tears. And I forgot that he told me that OKC [promised to draft him], so I got to keep my mouth closed about that. I talked to him, 'Well, hey, what are you doing? Straighten your face, man. You good, you good, you good.' You know the camera was right at the table.

"First of all, you're a millionaire. Second of all, I don't think he understand the numbers of how many people in the world that play basketball who would love to just be in this room. It's a blessing. It's a [heck] of a day."

Perhaps the Thunder would have followed through on their apparent promise if they knew what was in store, as Holmgren suffered a foot injury and was ruled out for his entire rookie campaign.

Smith has flashed his double-double potential at times and is averaging 11.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game for the Rockets.

While there is plenty of room for improvement, especially since he is shooting 38.8 percent from the field and 30.1 percent from deep, he has also shown enough to be selected to the 2023 Jordan Rising Stars tournament as part of All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City.

Oklahoma City may have been surprised Smith was even still available with the No. 2 pick.

After all, many experts expected the Orlando Magic to select the Auburn product with the No. 1 pick as the draft approached. Instead, they surprised by taking Duke's Paolo Banchero in a move that has worked out well so far since he is the front-runner in the Rookie of the Year race.

Holmgren presented the Thunder with the opportunity to select a big man who could anchor their defense for years to come and perhaps develop into a franchise cornerstone alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

They took that chance with the Gonzaga product, which meant Smith ended up in Houston despite plenty of speculation he would go to Orlando atop the draft.

And, apparently, despite a promise from the Thunder.