Braden Smith is chasing an NCAA title -- and an NBA future - ESPN

BRADEN SMITH IS SHORT.

Not while he walks around Purdue's campus, of course — he's listed, perhaps generously, at 6 feet. But as a potential NBA prospect? Purdue's leading point guard is short. He knows it, his opponents know it and NBA scouts know it.

He was undersized as an unranked high school recruit whose most likely destination until the Boilermakers extended a scholarship offer was Belmont.

«That's all it's ever been for me, is doubt and people saying I can't,» Smith told ESPN. «Well, look where I'm at now compared to where I was when I got here.»

On the heels of a consensus first-team All-America season, Smith is the national Player of the Year favorite on the No. 2 team looking to win its first national title. He also has the chance to become the NCAA's all-time assists leader, and potentially crack the first round of the 2026 NBA draft. That's a tall order in a league that has averaged 6-7 in height for all but five of the past 46 seasons.

The discussion about the importance of size grew in stature over the summer when Kevin Durant appeared on the podcast, «Mind the Game» hosted by LeBron James and Steve Nash, and said that it's hard to find too many key roles in the NBA for the majority of smaller guards.

«I don't know if the 6-2 and under guard is at a premium no more, as a starter. Maybe as a backup,» Durant said. «If you're 6-foot, 6-1 and you're not a bulldog like a Davion Mitchell… on the defensive side, or you're not an offensive flat-out savant like Kyrie [Irving] where you can score on dudes [that are] 7-feet easily in iso, I just can't see it.»

The numbers back up Durant's assertion.

The last player under 6 feet to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft was Shane Larkin in 2013; he was out