🏀Front Office2026-27
 
← Los Angeles Lakers
62
OVR

Nick Smith Jr.

Los Angeles Lakers · Depth
15th best of 15 on LAL
OFF64DEF61
Capable shooter & playmaker
LAL
Los Angeles Lakers
Western · Pacific · proj. 49-33 (▲+17.2)
→

A 22-year-old combo guard on a minimum deal who didn't log a gradeable NBA sample this season. The calling card is shot-making off the dribble; he's a young flyer still trying to carve out a role.

9.9
PPG
2.1
RPG
2.4
APG
0.3
SPG
0.1
BPG
GP 60MPG 22.8FG% 39.13P% 34FT% 93.5TS% 50.2USG% 20.8PER 8.3BPM -5.7VORP -1.3
2024-25 regular season · bars are percentile at his position

NBA player ratings

0–99 · 2024-25 form
Shooting82
Playmaking66
Scoring63
Rim protection57
Inside finishing56
Rebounding55
Perimeter defense51

Skill ratings are 2024-25 per-game and advanced stats (Basketball-Reference) ranked 0–99 within position (guards vs guards, bigs vs bigs). Overall is anchored to EPM impact on a non-linear curve, nudged by these skills; Offense and Defense come from box plus-minus. A player who missed the latest season is shown from his most recent one.

Career

2023-24 to 2025-26 · 3 seasons
7.6
PPG
1.6
RPG
1.7
APG
141
GAMES
Points 1,078Win Shares -1.0Starts 28Best season 2025-26 · 6.2 ppg
Games played, last three seasons57%

Regular season, 2003-04 onward (Basketball-Reference). Averages are weighted by games played; honours count awards won, not finishes. “Current players” means the 802 who played in the last three seasons.

Trajectory

2023-24 → 2025-26 · age 19 → 21
▬Steady

Nick, at 21, has held steady — 0.0 → 0.6 wins of value over the window.

2026-27 forecast▬ 0.8 wins (+0.2)
Assumes a normal season; he played 30 games last year. Age should add a little at 22. Range 0.0–1.8 wins.
Production (BPM)-5.9 → -4.7+1.226-27 forecast -4.9
Only 375 minutes last season, too few to call a trend.
2023-24: -5.9 · 51 games2024-25: -5.7 · 60 games2025-26: -4.7 · 30 games2026-27: -4.9 (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Value to team (wins)0.0 → 0.6+0.626-27 forecast 0.8
His value to a team has been stable.
2023-24: 0.0 · 51 games2024-25: 0.0 · 60 games2025-26: 0.6 · 30 games2026-27: 0.8 (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Contract value2026-27: worth $2.5M
Unsigned, so there is no 2026-27 salary to measure against. This is roughly what his play would fetch on the open market.
2023-24: $1.5M · 51 games2024-25: $1.5M · 60 games2025-26: $2.3M · 30 games2026-27: $2.5M (forecast)23-2425-2626-27

Seasons from Basketball-Reference (2023-24 → 2025-26). Production is box plus-minus, a per-possession measure. Value is VORP-based wins, so it also counts games played. Contract value is what each season’s play would fetch on the open market. The dotted 2026-27 point is a forecast: his established level, a year older, assuming a normal season.

Contract

2026-27
—Signed · terms pending
Runs through—
Est. market value$2,540,000 /yr
Surplus+$2,540,000
FAIR VALUEpaid about what he is worth

Market value is an estimate, not a reported figure: what his play is forecast to fetch on the open market in 2026-27 — his current rating, a year older. Cap thresholds are projected for 2026-27 until the league sets them.

Plays like

same position

Nearest skill profiles across the seven rating axes — who he plays like, not who is as good. The rating beside each name answers that second question.