That ranking puts Smith in the company of Charlotte’s Miles Bridges (12), Portland’s Jerami Grant (13), Sacramento’s Keegan Murray (14), Detroit’s Tobias Harris (16), Dallas’ PJ Washington (17), and Golden State’s Draymond Green (18).

In their description, HoopsHype acknowledges that the 21-year-old Smith could soon climb the list even further. Frank Urbina writes:

Smith has gotten off to a slightly slow start to his career, averaging just 13.3 points on 43.0% shooting from the floor over his first two NBA campaigns.

However, he has shown some impressive skills as an outside shooter, as an off-the-dribble scorer, athletically around the basket and on defense — where he can rack up steals and blocks — which leads us to believe in his upside. Plus, despite his two years of NBA service, Smith is still just 21 years old, giving him so much time to match his output and impact with his impressive physical gifts, i.e. his near-7-foot-height, his 7-foot-1 wingspan, and his leaping prowess.

We think Smith is another player who could very well break out in 2024-25 and make his place in this ranking look bad, as he has more potential than some of the players ahead of him on this list.