Jabari Smith Jr. grows his game after offseason workouts, training

HOUSTON — With the release of the NBA’s 2023-24 regular season schedule, second-year Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. will immediately have a chance to display the rigorous work he put in this offseason during two opening games versus the last two No. 1 overall draft picks: Paolo Banchero (2022) of the Orlando Magic, and Victor Wembanyama (2023) of the San Antonio Spurs.

Yet, Smith does not see any personal matchups on the schedule that he is circling. His main goal is improving on Houston’s 2022-23 season, in which they finished with a dismal record of 22-60.

“We lost so many games last year that I feel like you have to circle everybody,” Smith said during the team’s recent back-to-school event for students at the Sunnyside Community Center.

“I feel like we lost to every team in the league,” Smith said during Saturday morning’s event. “We lost a lot of games, so everybody is circled. We have stuff to prove after going 22-60. We are just going into every game with the same mindset, like we have something to prove. It is not just one game, we look forward to all of them.”

After what Smith considered a “learning” rookie season, in which he averaged 12.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, the 2022 NBA All-Rookie Second Team selection is looking to build on the momentum he enjoyed over his last 20 games. During that stretch, Smith shot 47.2% overall and 36.5% on 3-pointers.

This offseason, Smith has trained with the likes of future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant — now with the Phoenix Suns — and Smith is hopeful that it will help his personal growth. On paper, the lanky forwards have some physical similarities between a clear height advantage and a skillset to quickly shoot over smaller opponents.

“I would say KD [Kevin Durant],” Smith said when asked who helped him improve the most. “It has been mutual things with other people, but that was my first time actually talking to him, having a conversation, working out with him, and just being…