From "Next Durant" to fighting side by side: Jabbarry Smith Jr. s inheritance and transformation

When Jabbarri Jr. entered the NBA as Tanhua in 2022, the label "Next Durant" in the scout report is not only a recognition of his talent, but also a flashy crown. Three years later, the Rockets forward player and Kevin Durant officially became teammates, and the former template and the real mentor met wonderfully here.

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2 meters tall but has the characteristics of a defender-like soft touch. It was Durant's killer move in the new era. Nowadays, Smith Jr. also plays the role of space-type fourth position in the Rockets system with his height of 2.08 meters and a 39% three-point shooting percentage. However, compared with Durant's first entry into the league, Smith's delicateness on the offensive end of the ball is still immature. "His footsteps are deceptive, and every fake move is like deconstructing the defensive logic. " Smith described Durant's signature moves in an interview, and these words reveal the young players' keen observation of technical details.

Durant's arrival coincides with a critical turning point in Smith's career. In his rookie season, Smith made as low as 30% of his three-point shooting percentage and was in a sluggish state. Then, he improved his shooting chain, and by the third year, his three-point output was increased, with an average of 2.1 goals per game. But this progress is more reflected in the fixed-point projection level. Compared with the three-dimensional offensive methods such as emergency stop jump shots and back-on-one singles that Durant has mastered at the same age, the 23-year-old Rockets still has broad room for evolution.

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"The wisdom that most wants to learn to create a shooting space" is pointed out directly at the core pain points. When Durant developed the unsolvable pull-out during the Thunder period, the secret lies in his exquisite control over the center of gravity transformation - the slight flexion of the knee at 15 degrees during stepping, and the slight 8 cm shaking of the shoulders instantly. These details hidden in the memory of the muscles may be the treasures that are truly worth stealing. The Rockets assistant coach team revealed that Smith has begun systematically studying the landing distribution of Durant's 800 key shots in the past five years.

This inheritance is of great significance to both sides. For Durant, passing on basketball philosophy with personal demonstrations in his late years may be more meaningful than chasing the fifth championship ring; for Smith, it is not as a growth path to copy the template, but rather as an opportunity to explore personalized development. Just as Durant drew inspiration from Dirk Nowitzki but embarked on a new path, what Smith Jr. needs to understand is the thinking mode of the top scorer, rather than simply imitating technical actions.

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When the lights in the training hall illuminate the two forwards that cross the age difference of 13 years, the torch of basketball is happening quietly. The highlights of Durant's winnings saved on Smith's mobile phone may be transformed into a fatal blow in actual combat in the locker room on a certain game day. This kind of skill inheritance that spans generations may better interpret the charm of basketball than any statistics.