Jabari Smith Jr mocks Steph Curry’s former teammate James Wiseman after hitting a filthy shot: "He can't guard me, at all!"

Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. has been tearing up the Las Vegas Summer League. He tormented the Detroit Pistons on Sunday for 38 points. Later on, Smith even took a jab at Pistons center James Wiseman after hitting a step back in Wiseman’s face.

“He can’t guard me, at all,” Smith said after hitting the jumper while guarded by Wiseman.

The two are former top five picks. Smith was taken third in the 2022 NBA Draft. Wiseman was drafted by the Golden State Warriors with the second pick of the 2020 draft. He was later traded to the Pistons.

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Smith has been on fire in the desert. He opened his summer league campaign with 33 points in Houston’s win on Friday against the Portland Trail Blazers. He shot 8-of-18 from the field that night. He outplayed fellow top-five pick Scoot Henderson, who scored 15 points in his Plymouth debut.

Smith raised his level even higher in the second game when he dropped 38 points on Sunday. He shot 13-of-25 from the field. He also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out six assists.

Wiseman had 17 points of his own against Smith and the Rockets on Sunday.

It was one of the highest profile games of the summer league. Both teams figured to challenge for the summer league title. Both teams have rosters full of lottery picks from recent drafts.

Smith has had plenty of reason to trash talk so far in Las Vegas. Many questioned why the player was playing at all since he had already spent a year in the NBA. Summer League is usually filled with players who are less established on current NBA rosters. Smith shut down that talk and said he was excited to play in the summer league and had plenty to prove.

Recent reports say Smith’s time tearing up summer league may be over. The Rockets may choose to rest their young star as summer league slows down this week. Many of the players guaranteed roster spots do not play more than two games during the tournament. It will be interesting to see if Smith can persuade the Rockets to let him keep cooking up the competition.