Given the way Bruce Pearl talks about Jabari Smith and the Orlando Magic, you’d think the 2022 SEC Freshman of the Year had already signed his rookie-scale contract and has begun practicing for the NBA Las Vegas Summer League.
With the 2022 NBA Draft looming on Thursday, Smith is expected to go within the top 3 picks, with Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero posing the biggest threats to Smith as potential first selections overall.
Smith is likely the most pro-ready prospect of the bunch, though his Auburn Tigers did not have the most successful March Madness showing after winning the 2021-22 Regular Season Championship. Still, nothing is set in stone.
But that isn’t stopping Bruce Pearl from continuing to speak about Jabari Smith to the Magic like it’s a done deal:
Auburn HC Bruce Pearl on PF Jabari Smith: "He's gonna make Orlando win. They've got really good pieces. They've got really good coaches... They need someone who will make them win. He will do that."
— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonAU) June 21, 2022
Pearl also said that Smith is an integral part of the Auburn brand:
Bruce Pearl on Jabari's legacy: "We have Suni Lee, Tank Bigsby, Sonny D hitting dingers in baseball, it’s crazy. All he did is add to the Auburn brand. The Charles Barkley, Frank Thomas, Cam Newton brand. I think Coach Dye would be happy about that. That’s the brand right there."
— Justin Hokanson (@_JHokanson) June 21, 2022
Bruce Pearl only wants to see Jabari Smith go No. 1 in the 2022 NBA Draft
Bruce Pearl is hammering home his desire to see Smith go with the No. 1 pick to the Orlando Magic, re-iterating that he isn’t top 5, but the top 1:
Bruce Pearl: "We'd like (Jabari Smith) to go No. 1, not top-5. To me, what makes him No. 1 is, for his size, he's the best jump-shooter I've seen in college in 25 years. He can guard 1 through 5. He can impact the game offensively and defensively."
— Tom Green (@Tomas_Verde) June 21, 2022
The NBA Draft will be broadcast on Thursday, June 23 at 8 p.m. ET. ABC and ESPN will both air the first round of the draft while ESPN will exclusively hold the second round.