‘I want my team to count on me’: Hornets’ Nick Smith Jr. embracing key career moment
Nick Smith Jr. took a peek at the shot clock winding down, hesitated to set up a defender off the dribble and unleashed a jumper just inside the 3-point arc.
The result was a mirror image of what transpired during the opening of the California Classic 24 hours earlier, when the Charlotte Hornets’ second-year guard hoisted the game’s initial shot: all net.
“I feel like it’s just me being ready to play, just mentally already being there before I even step on the court,” Smith said after posting eight points, four rebounds and four assists in the Hornets’ 93-62 win against the Chinese national team at Golden 1 Center on Sunday night. “I didn’t get enough shots up, probably. I probably need to get here a few hours early, just do my regular routine. But yeah, it’s just being ready to play and mentally being there from jump.”
Now with a full year under his belt, Smith can assume the role of sage summer league veteran, showcasing his talents to an entirely new coaching staff. He’s a basketball junkie by nature and is embracing this latest challenge, professing to do whatever he possibly can to be in the mix.
This is a huge summer for Smith and he’s fully aware. After logging action in 51 games during his rookie season — averaging 5.9 points and 1.4 rebounds in 14.3 minutes — and being mostly on the outside looking in on former coach Steve Clifford’s rotation, Smith has to prove himself to a new staff to even garner a sniff of consideration for quality playing time in 2024-25.
“One thing as a player and as a professional is you just try to control what you can control,” Smith said. “But the main thing is just knowing what you are supposed to do. At first, I feel like I wasn’t trustworthy enough, just knowing where to be ... Really didn’t know as much as just as far as the NBA. But I feel like that just comes with experience, just watching film.”
Those sessions with Clifford and others began to pay dividends.
“Yeah, really just watching film, knowing where to be, spacing, playing the right way, is going to get you on the court,” Smith said. “My skill set, I feel, already speaks for itself. So, just not really being timid, just being confident in shooting the next shot, making the right pass, playing defense, it’s already my game anyway. I’ve just got to go out there and execute it.”
Although he hovers at 6-foot-3, the Hornets don’t really consider Smith a point guard, meaning most of his minutes will come off the ball. Depending on how deep new coach Charles Lee dives into his bench on a given night, there could be some minutes at reserve shooting guard behind recently-acquired Josh Green.
If so, Smith is doing his best to put his name into the mix.
“Nick is one of the guys that’s been in the gym every day,” Lee said. “ He loves the game, he loves being coached, he loves learning. And so this was a really good chance for him to start to just try to put all the stuff he’s been doing in individual workouts to work on the court.
“So, I’m really proud of him responding to the ups and downs of the game, but really staying even-keeled, staying level-headed, focused on the right things. He has to focus on defending at a high level and making the right reads every time, offensively not try to do too much.”
Which was precisely what transpired in the Hornets’ 97-65 summer league opening victory against San Antonio on Saturday. Smith’s steady play drew Lee’s praise, an indication he’s catching the staff’s eye already.
“I think on an individual basis, Nick stood out to me,” Lee said. “I thought the way that he was playing with great pace offensively, playing some pick-and-roll, catch and shooting when open, playing with the pass when he needed to. I thought his reads were pretty good in a lot of situations.”
Including on the other end of the court, which isn’t something Smith is noted for.
“I thought defensively he took on a lot of challenges,” Lee said. “We had him guarding (Stephon) Castle (on Saturday) at times and he’s getting into the ball. Just continuing to push the envelope with him on continuing to compete, even when shots aren’t going in or even after you turn the ball over, a next-play mentality. And I thought that he’s embraced a lot of the coaching that we’ve given him so far during summer league.”
Lee’s words are surely music to Smith’s ears. As the Hornets lay the foundation for what they hope is a sustainable winning culture, Smith doesn’t want to be left out.
He intends on making it a summer to remember, polishing up his game so he can morph into an effective and reliable two-way player.
“That’s what’s going to get you on the court,” Smith said. “I’m a guard, small guard, at that for the NBA. I’m 6-3 and have a long wingspan, but I’ve got to be able to guard the best guards in the country, and the best guards in the NBA, and the best wings at times. And I want my team to count on me to get those stops, because I want that challenge.
“And I’m pretty sure everybody knows I want that challenge, too. So, it’s just repping it each and every day, especially coming out here and just not taking any games lightly, it’s playing with the team. The team understands that winning comes first, defense comes first and Coach Lee has definitely preached that.”
