Auburn Tigers in the NBA: Jan. 14 edition

With Auburn now having several former basketball players playing professionally, we’ve launched a weekly look at the Tigers in the NBA. Here’s a quick overview of how they’re doing this season.

WALKER KESSLER, UTAH

SEASON: Rookie

MARKET WATCH: Stock up

UP-TO-DATE KEY STATS: 7.0 pts., 6.7 rebs., 2.0 blks. (Dec. 25 update: 6.8 pts., 6.3 rebs., 1.9 blks.)

GAMES/STARTS: 42/8

MINUTES PER GAME: 19.2

FIELD GOAL %: 70.8

BEST GAME: 12-2 vs. Indiana (W): 20 pts., 11 rebs., 2 blks.

WORST GAME: 10-24 vs. Houston (L): 0 pts., on 0-for-1 shooting, 4 fouls in eight minutes.

HIGH POINT TOTAL: 20

HIGH REBOUND TOTAL: 16

HIGH BLOCK TOTAL: 7

HIGH ASSIST TOTAL: 2

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “Kessler not only hit important free throws at the end of the game, he also had a career-best seven blocks to go with his nine rebounds and 13 points.

The rookie center has been impressive as a rim protector all season. His footwork, his timing and his ability to block shots with such regularity without fouling, this early in his career is honestly incredible.

So, of the seven blocks on Friday, here are my three favorite.

This first one, right out of the gate, is great because not only does he block the shot by completely relying on his length and just going straight up with two hands, but he defends the Magic’s second attempt and impedes the putback attempt.” — KSL

CHUMA OKEKE, ORLANDO

SEASON: Third

MARKET WATCH: Injured (Hasn’t played since Nov. 21)

UP-TO-DATE KEY STATS: 5.4 pts., 4.2 rebs., 1.4 asts. (Dec. 25 update: 5.4 pts., 4.2 rebs., 1.4 asts.)

GAMES/STARTS: 18/7

MINUTES PER GAME: 21.8

FIELD GOAL %: 36.8

BEST GAME: 11-3 vs. Golden State (W): 16 pts., 9 rebs., 3 ast.

WORST GAME: 10-24 vs. New York (L): 0 pts., on 0-for-5 shooting, 1 turnover.

HIGH POINT TOTAL: 16

HIGH REBOUND TOTAL: 9

HIGH BLOCK TOTAL: 2

HIGH ASSIST TOTAL: 3

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “Forward Chuma Okeke hasn’t played for the Orlando Magic since Nov. 21, and he won’t be back on the court for at least another month. The NBA team announced on Tuesday that the former Auburnstandout had undergone a chondroplasty on his left knee, and his status will be re-evaluated in four weeks. A chondroplasty is a surgical procedure to repair cartilage in a joint. Okeke’s knee soreness caused him to miss the Magic’s past 14 games and is the latest health setback for the 16th player picked in the 2019 NBA Draft.” — AL.com

ISAAC OKORO, CLEVELAND

SEASON: Third

MARKET WATCH: Trending up a little bit.

UP-TO-DATE KEY STATS: 5.3 pts., 2.4 rebs., 0.4 blks., 0.8 asts. (Dec. 25 update: 4.8 pts., 2.1 rebs., 0.4 blks., 0.8 asts.)

GAMES/STARTS: 43/13

MINUTES PER GAME: 19.2

FIELD GOAL %: 45.0

BEST GAME: 12-23 vs. Toronto (L): 15 pts., 3 rebs.

WORST GAME: 10-19 vs. Toronto (L): 0 pts., 4 fouls

HIGH POINT TOTAL: 15

HIGH REBOUND TOTAL: 7

HIGH BLOCK TOTAL: 2

HIGH ASSIST TOTAL: 4

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “Since the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Isaac Okoro with the fifth pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, there hasn’t been much production from him that validates the choice. I don’t say that to take a pop shot at Okoro. He will turn 22 on Jan. 26 and only played one year collegiately at Auburn University.

Nobody should look at the selection as a mistake yet. When players are that young, they are projects, and it’s only year three. It becomes much more challenging for a team to develop the skills of a young man when its timeline changes from rebuild to a contender. Besides, there’s no guarantee if the Cavs picked another in 2020 that, in the next draft, they’d be in the same spot to draft Evan Mobley.” — SI.com

JABARI SMITH JR., HOUSTON

SEASON: Rookie

MARKET WATCH: Holding steady

UP-TO-DATE KEY STATS: 12.1 pts., 7.1 rebs., 1.0 blks., 0.9 asts. (Dec. 25 update: 2.2 pts., 7.2 rebs., 1.0 blks., 0.8 asts.)

GAMES/STARTS: 41/41

MINUTES PER GAME: 29.9

FIELD GOAL %: 39.1

BEST GAME: 12-23 vs. Dallas (L): 24 pts., 10 rebs., 1 blk., 3 asts.

WORST GAME: 11-2 vs. LA Clippers (L): 2 pts., on 1-for-10 shooting, 2 turnovers.

HIGH POINT TOTAL: 27

HIGH REBOUND TOTAL: 15

HIGH BLOCK TOTAL: 3

HIGH ASSIST TOTAL: 3

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “Smith is playing 30 MPG as a rookie in Houston with a below-average usage rate in the 18%. Not that he (or we) cares. Smith has a slightly negative assist-to-turnover ratio but that’s probably all of the cons in his rookie resume.

The shooting wasn’t good through the first month of play but Smith has hit a respectable 43% of his field goal attempts in the past month of play. The rookie has also been banging three-point shots all year long with an average of nearly two 3PM per contest (he’s attempting more than half of his shots from beyond the arc).

Smith is one of only 16 players in the NBA with 1,000+ MP through New Year’s Eve still available in more than 50% of all ESPN leagues. That massive amount of playing time is hurting his season-long efficiency (below-average 0.84 FP/min) but he’s making up for that on pure brute force by staying on the court for long periods and bulking up his fantasy numbers.” — Roto Baller

JT THOR, CHARLOTTE

SEASON: Second

MARKET WATCH: Trending up a little.

UP-TO-DATE KEY STATS: 2.9 pts., 1.8 rebs., 0.3 blks. (Dec. 25 update: 2.2 pts., 1.7 rebs., 0.2 blks.)

GAMES/STARTS: 30/0

MINUTES PER GAME: 10.6

FIELD GOAL %: 39.2

BEST GAME: 11-4 vs. Memphis (L): 11 pts., 5 rebs., 2 asts., 1 blk.

WORST GAME: 10-28 vs. Orlando (L): 0 pts., 1 turnover

HIGH POINT TOTAL: 11

HIGH REBOUND TOTAL: 6

HIGH BLOCK TOTAL: 2

HIGH ASSIST TOTAL: 2

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “JT Thor looks like he could spend some more time in Greensboro because he’s not there yet.” — Sports Illustrated