Jabari Smith Jr. could make biggest leap by learning underrated Durant skill

As the Houston Rockets get ready to enjoy their new campaign with Kevin Durant leading the way, Jabari Smith Jr. has a chance to learn an important skill from his new teammate: Efficiency. Will Guillory of The Athletic spoke about it on a recent edition of The Athletic NBA Daily podcast.

“I think Jabari Smith is in line for a really big season. I think you mentioned it perfectly earlier, that I think he’s going to have a really good opportunity to learn from Kevin Durant. And maybe above all, what we love about Kevin Durant’s game so much is his efficiency. His ability to get his without taking up a lot of space within the room. And I think Jabari Smith is going to have to learn how to do that within this offense because KD and Sengun are going to have the ball so much. They’re going to want Amen and Reed Sheppard to have their opportunities. But they’re going to need Jabari to provide some offense and to take advantage of certain situations. And I think he’s got to learn how to be efficient.”

Smith could learn a lot from Durant.

What can Jabari Smith Jr. learn from Kevin Durant?

Throughout the course of his career, Durant has been an unbelievably efficient player, especially considering how many points he’s averaged and how much his teams have relied on him to score.

Even when he was on the Golden State Warriors, one of the best rosters in the history of the NBA, Durant was a top scorer—and he was extremely efficient.

Defenses have constantly put a ton of pressure on Durant, but it hasn’t mattered. That’s what the Rockets should hope Smith can pick up from Durant during their time as teammates.

Last season, Smith shot 43.8% from the floor and 35.4% from beyond the three-point line. It was a step down from the efficiency he displayed during the 2023-24 campaign (45.4% from the field and 36.3% from deep).

As for Durant, even in his 17th NBA season last year, he was incredibly efficient, shooting 52.7% from the floor and 43.0% from beyond the arc.

But Durant wasn’t always efficient. In his early NBA years, he shot below 50% from the field consistently. But he learned. And that’s exactly how he can help Smith.

Durant hasn’t shot below 50% from the field since 2011-12, and he’s been above 40% from three in four of the last five seasons.

If Smith can learn some of those talents, the Rockets will be in a great place.