Ranking the 10 best shooting guard prospects in the 2023 NBA Draft

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Nick Smith Jr., Arkansas Razorbacks – Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /

Shooting Guard #3: Nick Smith Jr., Arkansas

Before the season started, most of the buzz towards the top guard prospect outside of Scoot Henderson was focused on Nick Smith Jr. He was coming off a dominant high school senior season where he hoovered in awards and flexed a pro-ready offensive game that looked like an intersection between D’Angelo Russell and James Harden.

Due to a nagging knee injury that kept him out of the lineup and hindered his ability to get into the lane and create separation when he did play, that type of season obviously didn’t happen. Even with the dampened expectations, however, Smith Jr. is still a valuable shooting guard prospect who may one day get back to being the elite prospect that he was.

Arkansas Freshman Nick Smith Jr. Had a very good game today. Smith finished with 16 Points and 5 Assists he also shot 60% from three on 5 attempts. pic.twitter.com/tku3nTxGvV
— KJ (@Kjpistons) December 3, 2022

Darius Garland too had a lost season in college before developing into a twitchy scoring guard at the NBA level. That’s the archetype for Smith Jr. to try to follow, which he could do if he works on his floater, shot from deep, and physical profile so that he can get into the paint with more ease.