Jabari Smith (Auburn) poses for photos on the red carpet before the 2022 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Jabari Smith uses NBA Draft suit to take shot at SEC rival

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 6/23/22

Jabari Smith is expected to be the No. 1 draft pick Thursday, and he gave a hint about the attitude he’ll be bringing to the NBA with the suit he wore.

Smith arrived for the draft in a custom suit, with a number of meaningful images depicted on the inside of the jacket. Smith went to great pains to point out one of the pictures, which shows him, in his words, “beating up on Kentucky.”

.@jabarismithjr showing himself some love with the #NBADraft night jacket pic.twitter.com/0WkyjoH2oj

— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 23, 2022

Smith only spent one season at Auburn, but it’s pretty clear that the school made an impression on him. He fully bought into the rivalry with Kentucky as well. By the looks of it, the picture was strategically chosen to make sure the scoreboard was in the background. Smith scored 14 points in that game, an 80-71 Auburn victory.

By the looks of it, Smith might have had some of his college coach’s attitude rub off on him. That is not necessarily a bad thing.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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