In sports, there are three types of players. Those who are great regular season players, who take their greatness to a whole other level in the playoffs. Then there are great regular season players who flame out in the postseason. Lastly, there are the players who are average to good regular season players, who step their game up when it matters most, including in the playoffs. In my opinion, Jabari Smith Jr. is lining up to become that kind of player, and in 2025-2026 he showed us glimpses.

A lot of what is required to be successful in the postseason is mental. In the playoffs, every team is good and made up of good players. In the course of a seven-game series, there are no more secrets about what you or your opponent are going to try to do, it’s about executing your gameplan better, and imposing your will mentally and physically. Now I won’t say that physically Jabari Smith Jr. imposed his will on these playoffs, but he has the mentality that you need to win. Sadly, there were moments in the series against the Lakers that he looked like the only player who cared.

In the series against the Golden State Warriors last season, Jabari’s first taste of playoff basketball, he was extremely efficient on the offensive end but not nearly aggressive enough, taking less than five shots per game. This postseason, Jabari knew he’d have to be more of a factor with Kevin Durant missing all but one game in the series, and the team being down 0-3 in the series as a result. Yes, he stepped up his point production slightly in the playoffs, but honestly, it wasn’t enough. The team needed more from him offensively.

That being said, Jabari Smith Jr. took more than 14 shots per game in the series. The issue being that he only shot 38.3 percent from the field, including 37.3 percent from three. He played hard defensively as he always does, but let’s face it for a man of his stature he should be more of a factor on the boards. I don’t believe watching him on the court that it is from lack of effort, which is why I won’t be too harsh on the young man in this review. I think he has what it takes to be a contributor on a winning team, he just needs to finally put it together in his upcoming fifth season.

If he can combine the efficiency of his first playoff series with the aggressiveness and sense of urgency he showed in his second playoff series, then he will be one of those impact players in the postseason. I think at this point Jabari’s ceiling is a fringe All-Star ultimately on the outside looking in, unless the Rockets are just grossly misusing him, I don’t see him being much more than that. However, I can’t explain enough how big of a fan I am of his mental makeup. His 15.8 points per game in the regular season is fine with me, as long as he can bump it up to 18-19 points per game in the postseason. His 7.9 rebounds per game is cool with me, as long as it turns into 9-10 rebounds in the postseason. He doesn’t have to shoot 50 percent from the field and 45 percent from three like he did in the 2024-2025 playoffs, but he needs to be close.

Since Jabari Smith Jr. was drafted third overall in 2022, he’s been on a personal mission to prove to himself that he belongs. With Paolo Banchero winning rookie of the year, Chet Holmgren already being a key contributor to an NBA Championship, and the eyes of many wondering if the Rockets made the right choice selecting him third overall, you can see that the spirit is willing with Smith, the question… Is he really that dude? I think he can be, because I see how hard he works, I see how badly he wants it, the only thing left for him to answer to me is, is he willing to go take it. Because no one is going to hand it to him. If he can match his on-court production with that dog mentality I sense in him, then I hope he’s still wearing a Rockets jersey when it happens.