Jabari Smith Jr. (PF, HOU) - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 23

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

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues

ROSTERED IN: 45% of leagues

ANALYSIS: When it comes to rookies, trust is always going to be a problem. Will they deliver? Will they bust? Will they excel, then hit a monster wall midway through the season? When it comes to top-3 selections, though, life is much simpler. You just can (nearly) always trust the process, grab some shares, and let them perform. Enter Jabari Smith Jr.

See, Smith had a rough start to his rookie year. There is no denying that. Now, for the second half of the season, he's been more than nice and certainly good considering 1) he's a member of the Rockets and 2) he's a very particular freshman with a rare skillset trying to find his place among pros.

Smith has scored 16+ points in all three games he's played this week, and he's hit 11+ points in 11 of his last 12 matchups (he finished the other one with eight points). He's averaging nearly 17 PPG in that span, he's scoring 2+ 3PM per game, and he's grabbing more boards than he's done before at an average of 7+ RPG.

In March alone, hell, in three consecutive games this month alone, from Mar. 9th to Mar. 13rd, Smith stringed double-doubles of 30-12, 20-10, and 24-11 points and rebounds. He let three games pass and then kicked off this week with a 17-11 one, his sixth dub-dub since the start of the 2023 calendar year.

Although the shooting usually comes and goes without rhyme or reason, Smith Jr. is currently navigating one of his better stretches as he's hit 50.6% of all of his shots in the last 12 games going 76-of-150 from the floor, that's including three-ball shots.

Smith is your typical big man in that he basically boils the game down to scoring and rebounding, but the addition of the three-point stroke is a very welcomed one that you should have taken advantage of much earlier this season. There is still some time left for you to grab some shares until the regular season ends.

More Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups

Jayson Tatum Injury: Fantasy Basketball Impact and Boston Celtics Team Outlook After Torn Achilles

It's hard to believe things could've gotten any worse for the Boston Celtics. As if gifting the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals to the New York Knicks wasn't egregious enough, Jayson Tatum suffered a ruptured Achilles in the final minutes of Game 4. As first reported by ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania, […]

Alex Burns May 14, 2025

RotoBaller Writing and Media Team Nominated For 13 FSWA Awards in 2024

It's awards season for the fantasy sports industry, and RotoBaller is honored to be recognized by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) with various award nominations from our writing and media team in 2024. The RotoBaller brand continues to shine among the many talented companies and analysts throughout the fantasy sports industry for their editorial […]

RotoBaller February 13, 2025

Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 15 (2024-25): February 3 - February 9

If you're like me, you woke up to one of the biggest trades in recent NBA history (Luka for AD) and are still trying to make sense of it. It will likely be the biggest trade of the week, but it won't be the only deal made this week as Thursday's NBA trade deadline looms. […]

Dan Palyo February 2, 2025

League Winners: Second-Half Trade Targets and Stashes - 2025 Fantasy Basketball

Things have not gone as planned for fantasy basketball managers who drafted players like Joel Embiid or Jimmy Butler. But there's plenty of basketball left to be played and it's time to reassess how we view players going forward. If you want to win that fantasy basketball league championship, worry less about where your players […]

Dan Palyo January 30, 2025

Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 14 (2024-25): January 27 - February 2

We flip the calendar to February this week and edge closer to both the All-Star break and the NBA trade deadline. Some of the moves you can make in the next few weeks could greatly impact your team's ability to compete for a fantasy championship in March or April! Most leagues have a weekly moves […]

Dan Palyo January 26, 2025