The Index · Live

Braden Smith Indiana Pacers · #18

Guard · 6'4", 190 lb · Purdue

Braden Smith is a guard the Chicago Bulls selected 38th overall (second round) in the 2026 NBA draft out of Purdue. An incoming rookie for 2026-27 — projected role, ratings and outlook.

Indiana Pacers roster More Guards

MVP race · #306Guard rank · #163Balladex Impact · 37

⚖ Quick compare

Analysis by Beau Thoutt · Balladex

◆ Rated

Indiana Pacers · #18 · Guard

Braden Smith

Season avg— · no NBA seasons yet — prospect

Career avg— · career line pending debut

Live win probabilitySeason

No scheduled game — showing season pace. Illustrative.

Tonight's projectionmodel

0.0pts

0.0reb

0.0ast

LADDER#306 in the Balladex MVP raceIMPACTBalladex Impact 37 — Role player tierINDEXBraden Smith · Indiana PacersLADDER#306 in the Balladex MVP raceIMPACTBalladex Impact 37 — Role player tierINDEXBraden Smith · Indiana Pacers

Scouting report

Braden Smith — the report card

Read his whole game at a glance, then dive into any skill. Grades from the DNA model + real production.

Depth guard prospect · Impact 37

Braden Smith is a guard the Chicago Bulls selected 38th overall (second round) in the 2026 NBA draft out of Purdue. An incoming rookie for 2026-27 — p

Offense

Defense

Feel / IQ

Playmaking

Below average creator

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Scoring

Below average scorer

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Rebounding

Below average on the glass

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3PT / spacing

Below average spacing

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Perimeter D

Below average on the perimeter

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Paint / rim D

Below average at the rim

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Clutch

Below average late

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Athleticism

Below average tools

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Basketball IQ

Reads the game

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Durability

Availability

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Act II

Where Braden Smith stands

Live ladders from the Balladex models, and what he's chasing. Rankings recompute nightly from real production, accolades, and search demand.

The laddersmodel · recomputes nightly

Nikola Jokić Denver Nuggets▬

43%

Giannis Antetokounmpo Miami Heat▬

23%

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Oklahoma City Thunder▬

19%

Luka Doncic Los Angeles Lakers▬

Joel Embiid Philadelphia 76ers▬

✦ Balladex Consensus: #356 of 384 — a blend of the Impact index, current production, career résumé and live search demand. Recomputes as the data does.

Futures & chases

—MVP odds

37Impact index

64Star score

Career scoring average0.0 ppg

Seasons in the index0

Accolades on file1

#38 2026 Draft pick (R2)

Stat explorer

Braden Smith — every number, three levels deep

Headline → metric → the raw history behind it. Real career data; tracking-only metrics labeled.

Scoring

0.0 PPG

drill in ↓

Playmaking

0.0 APG

drill in ↓

Rebounding

0.0 RPG

drill in ↓

Shooting

— 3P%

drill in ↓

The engine

How the model sees Braden Smith

Projection = per-minute rate × projected minutes. Rates are recency- and health-weighted, aged along a per-stat curve, and adjusted for live usage/role. No black box — every number shows its work.

Projected next season confidence

Bands widen as confidence drops. Derived live from the real 0-season history below.

What moves the points line vs last season

Everything it reads

📊

0 seasons of per-minute rates

every box line, minutes-normalized

real

⚖

Recency × games-played weight

recent, healthy seasons anchor the baseline

auto

📈

Weighted least-squares trend

his own trajectory, read season over season

+dev

🕰

Per-stat aging curves

age — — applied per stat

curve

🔌

Live role context

usage & role shifts fold in when the feed is present

+ctx

🏥

Durability signal

GP last 3: — → games & confidence

health

The real history it trains onsource: Basketball-Reference · verified

Braden Smith career stats, season by season

Source: Basketball-Reference. Backtested against completed player-seasons in the index. The same engine powers Tonight's projection, EraLab, and the role simulator — one model, asked different questions. Illustrative.

Act III

The Lab

Every number, live and interactive. Real career data; models labeled.

Gold = MVP / Championship season · hover any bar. Real per-game data; per-36 & totals derived.

EraLab · the stat time machinenovel

Re-express a season in today's pace-and-space.

—raw PPG

→

—in 2026 pace

why

Player DNA + compssimilarity model

Closest comps

Jaden Bradley 100%Koby Brea 100%Ryan Conwell 100%Alijah Martin 99%Chaz Lanier 99%

⚖ Overlay a rival →

Scoring map · clickable zonesShotChart

Team-tinted. Modeled where tracking data is absent.

Role simulatorpowered by GM engine

Change the roster around him — his projection updates live.

If a key teammate misses 20 games →

Projected line shifts to — usage , assists rise as primary initiator. Title odds . Illustrative.

Context

Are the Indiana Pacers built to win?

Team projection rolled up from the roster + last-season baselines — and what it means for his role.

21–61proj record

#13conf seed

-7.6net rtg

110.2off rtg

117.8def rtg

1%playoff odds

Roster delta · what changed

Drop coverage — Sits the big back to wall off the rim and lives with contested mid-range looks.. Core trending improving. Defensive anchors: Ivica Zubac, Andrew Nembhard.

How his role moves

Projected 21–61, 13th in the East. Real team projection from the roster + last-season baselines. His usage, minutes and creation load move with roster health.

Balladex Impact

37 of 99

Role player tier.

Rarity

◆ Rated

Collectible tier.

Résumé

1 accolades

#38 2026 Draft pick (R2)

Act IV

The Ballad of Braden Smith

Birth to now — the making of a legend, narrated and scored.

The beginning

Braden Smith is a 2026 second-round guard for the Chicago Bulls.

Indiana Pacers

Turning pro

Drafted 38th overall, 2026 as a Guard.

true

Braden Smith was a second-round pick (38th overall) in the 2026 NBA draft, headed to the Chicago Bulls out of Purdue.

Chapter

He has not played an NBA game yet — his debut comes in 2026-27, so this page carries projections only.

Where things stand

A second-round guard who debuts in 2026-27.

▶

Smith's story

The documentary, narrated

Highlights

▶ Highlights landing soon

Off the court

Measurables ESPN

Active

Height: 5' 10"
Weight: 167 lbs
College: Purdue
Experience: Rookie
Draft: 38th overall, 2026
Born: Purdue
Jersey: #18

Beyond the game

Smith joins the Chicago Bulls as a 2026 second-round pick out of Purdue.

In the news ESPN

Thunder beat the Pacers in OT

The person

A 2026 second-round guard out of Purdue.

Incoming

Second round

Purdue

FAQ

Braden Smith — frequently asked

The questions people ask most about Braden Smith, answered.

Where was Braden Smith drafted?

Braden Smith was selected 38th overall (second round) by the Chicago Bulls in the 2026 NBA draft, out of Purdue.

Does Smith have NBA stats yet?

The identity and draft facts are real; the ratings and outlook are Balladex projections, since he debuts in 2026-27.

Braden Smith career stats & accolades are real, and team projections and recent-game home/away splits are computed from real production. DNA ratings, grades, tonight's projection, ladders, live win probability and simulator outputs are Balladex model output. Not affiliated with the NBA.

Braden Smith Indiana Pacers · #18

Braden Smith — the report card

Where Braden Smith stands

Braden Smith — every number, three levels deep

How the model sees Braden Smith

Braden Smith career stats, season by season

The Lab

Are the Indiana Pacers built to win?

The Ballad of Braden Smith

The beginning

Turning pro

true

Chapter

Where things stand

Off the court

Braden Smith — frequently asked

The desk on Braden Smith

More Indiana Pacers players

Braden Smith head-to-head

Other Guards to compare