Dennis Smith Jr. isn’t on an NBA roster right now, but many of his peers from the 2017 NBA Draft class are. Some of them like De’Aaron Fox have turned into All-Star talents. The former North Carolina guard spoke about his time competing against Fox during an appearance on The OGs podcast and also addressed the progression that the Sacramento Kings star has shown over time.
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While on the show, Mike Miller asked Smith about his experience playing with and against the 27-year-old in their younger years. The two-time champion also underlined Fox’s 60-point explosion in November against the Timberwolves as the highlight of his All-Star caliber campaign this season. Smith agreed, saying, “He let them boys have it versus Minnesota, he been balling man… I always knew he was talented.”
The former ninth overall pick continued to laud Fox, who was selected fifth in the same draft class. The former Dallas Maverick stressed how he didn’t lose confidence in Fox when critics were denouncing his shooting abilities. “Whenever he found that touch again, I wasn’t surprised,” Smith Jr. added.
The one-time All-Star is making a strong case to add to his accolade list this season despite Sacramento’s dysfunctional 13-17 start. Fox is keeping pace with his scoring from last year, averaging 26.2 points compared to 26.6 in 2023-24. Moreover, he has improved his playmaking numbers with 6.2 assists per game, his highest average since 2020-21. The 6-foot-3 playmaker is also notching a career-best 5.0 rebounds, doing everything for the mediocre Kings this season.
De’Aaron Fox has succeeded while Dennis Smith Jr. struggled at the next level
While Fox is on pace to make his second All-Star appearance this season, Smith Jr. has struggled to maintain a role in the NBA. Despite ranking 6th and 7th, respectively, in 2016’s top high school recruits, the pair’s professional careers have taken vastly different paths.
In seven seasons, the 6-foot-2 guard has played for seven different teams, spending five years between the Mavericks and New York Knicks. While he has been utilized as a fill-in starter by many teams during his career, he has failed to hang on to a starting role after Luka Doncic took the reins in Dallas.
Smith Jr. has contributed for several teams as a serviceable backup playmaker, yet hasn’t been valued enough due to his short stature, shooting woes and inability to contain bigger guards. Smith Jr’s quickness and athleticism were what made him a top draft pick in 2017, but his weaknesses have proven to be too much to overcome for him in the league thus far.
