Fresh off having his high school number retired, Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. will be the first player from an Alabama high school or college on the court in the NBA’s 2025-26 season.
The NBA’s 80th season tips off at 6:30 p.m. CDT Tuesday, when the Rockets play the Oklahoma City Thunder, the winner of the league’s 79th championship.
Since joining Houston from Auburn as the third pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Smith has been part of the Rockets’ growth from 22 victories to 41 to 52. In attempt to continue that ascent in the 2025-26 season, Houston acquired Kevin Durant and seems ready to deploy the 15-time All-Star with Smith to put a pair of 6-11 forwards in the lineup.
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Smith will be wearing the No. 10 jersey for the Rockets on Tuesday night, just as he did for Auburn and Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone, Georgia.
With the Rockets in Atlanta to play the Hawks in an NBA preseason game last week, Sandy Creek held a ceremony to retire Smith’s number on Wednesday.
“Just everybody just being here and recognizing me and knowing who I am, it’s a good feeling,” Smith said at the event “You feel the love. I’m not the type of person that likes the limelight or likes a lot of attention, but I felt a lot of love today, and I needed it.”
If Smith doesn’t miss 25 games again this season, as he did in 2024-25 because of a broken bone in his left hand, he’s likely to become the 11th former Auburn player to reach 3,000 points and seventh with 2,000 rebounds in the NBA, although former Tigers teammate Walker Kessler of the Utah Jazz probably will get to the latter milestone first.
Smith and Kessler are among the 12 players from Alabama high schools and colleges opening the 2024-25 season on standard NBA contracts:
Johni Broome (Auburn), Philadelphia 76ers
Kobe Brown (Lee-Huntsville), Los Angeles Clippers
Noah Clowney (Alabama), Brooklyn Nets
Keon Ellis (Alabama), Sacramento Kings
Herb Jones (Hale County, Alabama), New Orleans Pelicans
Walker Kessler (Auburn), Utah Jazz
Brandon Miller (Alabama), Charlotte Hornets
Davion Mitchell (Auburn), Miami Heat
Isaac Okoro (Auburn), Chicago Bulls
Collin Sexton (Alabama), Charlotte Hornets
Jabari Smith Jr. (Auburn), Houston Rockets
Trendon Watford (Mountain Brook), Philadelphia 76ers
Another nine players with Alabama basketball roots are starting this season on two-way contracts.
Each NBA team can have three players on two-way contracts. A two-way player does not count on the 15-player standard roster but can play up to 50 games with the NBA team while being shuttled to and from the team’s NBA Gatorade League affiliate without being subjected to waivers.
The players from Alabama high schools and colleges on two-way contracts, with NBA team and NBA G League affiliate:
Brooks Barnhizer (Alma Bryant), Oklahoma City Thunder/Oklahoma City Blue
Dylan Cardwell (Auburn), Sacramento Kings/Stockton Kings
Sharife Cooper (Auburn), Washington Wizards/Capital City Go-Go
JD Davison (Calhoun, Alabama), Houston Rockets/Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Trey Jemison III (Hoover, UAB), New York Knicks/Westchester Knicks
Colby Jones (Mountain Brook), Detroit Pistons/Motor City Cruise
Miles Kelly (Auburn), Dallas Mavericks/Texas Legends
Mark Sears (Muscle Shoals/Alabama), Milwaukee Bucks/Wisconsin Herd
Chris Youngblood (Alabama), Oklahoma City Thunder/Oklahoma City Blue
The NBA G League’s 2025-26 season tips off on Nov. 7.
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