The progression of Zhaire Smith‘s NBA career has been strange, curious, and, by what one might characterize as divine intervention, promising. He spent a large chunk of his rookie season on bedrest after a severe allergic reaction to sesame. Then, somehow, he made it back for the final six games and looked … decent.
Smith is a one-percent athlete. At 6-foot-4, he effortlessly skies for lobs and pops endlessly on defense. His lateral quickness is elite, his instincts are growing, and he has all the tools of a top-tier perimeter defender in the NBA.
The Philadelphia 76ers are a team built on defense, and perimeter one-on-one defense has long been an area of weakness.