“Favorite Player Until…”: Jabari Smith Jr. Describes Relationship With New Teammate Kevin Durant

Winning requires sacrifice and the Houston Rockets are well aware of it. They recently cut ties with young star Jalen Green and defensive stopper Dillon Brooks to be able to acquire Kevin Durant. Losing two valuable teammates did come as a culture shock to some members of the Roxkets squad like forward Jabari Smith Jr. Smith, however, is taking it personally for a very different reason.

Ahead of the 2022 NBA Draft, Smith had found himself repeatedly compared Durant. Standing at 6-foot-11, he possessed the same physical intangibles along with Durant’s stellar ability to shoot the ball.

This was no coincidence, however. The 22-year-old notably modelled his game after Durant, his favorite player growing up. Unfortunately, there’s an asterisk beside that fun fact. Smith’s love for Durant partially changed due to one infamous moment.

“Honestly, he was my favorite player until he went to Golden State,” Smith revealed on The Young Man and The Three. “Obviously, that kind of threw everybody off.”

It seems that Smith might have to handle his grievances with Durant privately in the locker room. Nonetheless, that love he had for the two-time NBA champion during his youth remains as strong through his first three years in the league.

Last year, the two trained together ahead of the 2024-25 season. Neither player would’ve predicted that they would share the court again, this time as teammates. Although Smith looks forward to learn from Durant, he understands replicating his game is nearly impossible.

“Getting to the NBA and being able to work out with him, it was all crazy, honestly,” Smith proclaimed. “People watch him and be like, ‘I want to be KD.’ It’s not that easy. How fluid he is and how precise he is with his movements. It’s hard to replicate.”

Smith gained a newfound appreciation in the few workouts he had the privilege of sharing with Durant last season. Now, he will have the opportunity to work alongside the future Hall-of-Famer every single day. This is no longer a young team trying to make a name for itself. They have championship expectations, yet Smith isn’t backing down from the challenge.

“It’s been a lot. You could tell where the organization wants to go, and it’s kind of exciting,” Smith said.

Without Durant, the Rockets were the second-best team in the Western Conference. Of course, their excellent regular season didn’t contribute much to their postseason performance following their first-round loss to the Golden State Warriors. Durant certainly will help fix many of the problems the team had last year.