Charlotte Hornets guard Nick Smith Jr.'s NBA stock has been all over the place over the past nine months. He entered college basketball as the number three recruit in ESPN's Top 100. Obviously, that excludes Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson, who reclassified and was in the G League when he should've been a high school senior.

Smith was touted as potentially the best NBA prospect in college basketball before the 2022-23 season. Unfortunately, a knee injury suffered during the preseason derailed Smith's debut with the Arkansas Razorbacks. He was in and out of the lineup, and even when he was, Arkansas' team environment didn't exactly optimize Smith's game.

He needed a fresh start, a clean slate. Ater being drafted in the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft by the Hornets, the Summer League was a glimpse of that for him.

Shot selection

Nick Smith Jr.'s Summer League performance was good, not perfect. It did allow him to showcase the skillset and talent that made him a five-star recruit, but he still has areas of his game to address. The first would be shot selection and feel for the game.

Unfortunately for him, the Hornets filled their Summer League team with a bunch of combo guards like Smith Jr. who prefer to score rather than create for others. That led to a bunch of stalled, isolation possessions that went nowhere and ended with contested pull-up jumpers. Smith Jr. fell victim to these shots as well, which hampered his efficiency.

In six games, Smith Jr. scored 86 points on 34 of 83 (40.96%) shooting from the field and 10-for-31 (32.26%) from distance. He also registered 20 assists to 17 turnovers. In 17 games at Arkansas, he put up 29 assists to 27 turnovers. Turning some of those early clock jumpers into possessions with more ball movement can lead to better shots for the offense.

Attacking the basket is another area Smith Jr. could improve upon for the Hornets. Smith Jr. tends to prefer midrange jumpers, especially in pick and roll attacking drop coverage. His 6-4 170 pound is frame isn't the most robust for taking contact, and that shows at the free throw line. In those six Summer League games, Smith Jr. attempted just 13 free throws, making eight of them (61.5%). However, he does have an excellent floater when he does get downhill and attack the paint.

Walking Bucket

This leads to where Nick Smith Jr. excels: the man is an absolute bucket. Disregard the 47.2% true shooting percentage and 43.6% effective field goal percentage to a degree. While you certainly want someone to post better percentages than that, Arkansas had no shooting around Smith Jr. and Anthony Black was the other lone reliable creator who could consistently create shots for others. Even though Charlotte's Summer League team was far from perfect, Smith Jr. had a ton more room to go get his. That extra space allowed Smith Jr. to get loose and deliver one of the best performances in all of Summer League when he dropped 33 points on 13-20 shooting against the Portland Trail Blazers.

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Smith Jr. did most of his damage with the ball in his hands in this game, but he also flashed spot-up shooting as well as movement shooting playing off the ball. That skillset should allow him to get some great looks playing alongside Hornets star LaMelo Ball, one of the best playmakers in the NBA. One of Ball and/or Smith Jr. is going to have to pick it up defensively, but the combination of Ball's supreme playmaking and Smith Jr.'s shooting and scoring should make a beautiful symphony in the Queen City.

Moving Forward

Nick Smith Jr. was the number three recruit in ESPN's Top 100 amongst the 2023 recruiting class. He has a ton of talent, talent that wasn't allowed to properly shine at Arkansas. That, along with a knee injury, led to Smith Jr. dropping all the way to the 27th pick. Even considering the setbacks the 2022-23 season threw at him, that was way too far of a drop.

Tyler Herro was a popular comp for Smith Jr. and it's easy to see why. Both aren't going to put a ton of pressure on the rim but can slide to their spots with the ball in their hands as well as stretch the floor without it. Tyler Herro is well within Smith Jr.'s range of outcomes. Smith Jr. can be one of the biggest steals of the 2023 Draft. If he can build upon his Summer League and become a better playmaker to go with his scoring ability, then he definitely will be. He's got a very bright future with the Hornets.