Jabari Smith Jr. (PF, HOU) - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 12

January 1, 2023

Jabari Smith Jr. is worth considering as a fantasy basketball waiver wire pickup heading into Week 12 of the 2022-23 NBA season.

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues

ROSTERED IN: 40% of leagues

ANALYSIS: After a whole lot of years of NBA/BAA basketball (it's been around since 1947) and even more debutants (I don't know how many rookies there have been through history, but you bet it's been more than a handful), only 128 of them got to score 12+ PPG and grab 7+ RPG in their first professional seasons. Jabari Smith Jr. (for now at least) is poised to become Member No. 129.

No, that group doesn't include fellow classmate Paolo Banchero, just to name a flashy rookie. Smith is, though, in the discussion to join a bunch that features the names of Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin, Dwight Howard, Yao Ming, Pau Gasol, and Tim Duncan, just to name a few. Just saying.

Smith is playing 30 MPG as a rookie in Houston with a below-average usage rate in the 18%. Not that he (or we) cares. Smith has a slightly negative assist-to-turnover ratio but that's probably all of the cons in his rookie resume.

The shooting wasn't good through the first month of play but Smith has hit a respectable 43% of his field goal attempts in the past month of play. The rookie has also been banging three-point shots all year long with an average of nearly two 3PM per contest (he's attempting more than half of his shots from beyond the arc).

Smith is one of only 16 players in the NBA with 1,000+ MP through New Year's Eve still available in more than 50% of all ESPN leagues. That massive amount of playing time is hurting his season-long efficiency (below-average 0.84 FP/min) but he's making up for that on pure brute force by staying on the court for long periods and bulking up his fantasy numbers.

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