March 15, 2026, 11:52 a.m. ET

PHILADELPHIA — Brooklyn Nets guard Malachi Smith received the chance to do what many who play basketball for a living hope for and that’s to be signed to an NBA roster at some point. Brooklyn signed Smith to a 10-day contract on Friday and thanks to multiple injuries to rotation players, he was able to make his debut on Saturday and he took some time to react to the achievement.

“It was a dream come true. I tried not to think it too much, just go out there have fun. I feel like I had a good game in some spurts, but there were some things I wish I did better,” Smith said after Saturday’s 104-97 loss at the Philadelphia 76ers. The Nets were missing rookie guards Egor Demin and Drake Powell due to injury and that allowed someone like Smith to see some playing time on the floor against a shorthanded 76ers team.

“No, I mean, people start to talk whenever you’re starting to [play well]. I think I had like a month and a half, two months [of] almost triple-doubles,” Smith said when asked when he felt he was going to be called up to the NBA. “So it was kind of like people are trying to tell you, ‘hey, be ready.’ I didn’t know where [the call] was going to come from,”

Smith had a solid performance in his debut and he played 23 minutes against the 76ers and he put up four points, three rebounds, one steal, and two blocks, but there was also some moments where he will have to improve. Despite Smith stuffing the stat sheet, he also finished the contest with just one assist to just five turnovers after facing a Philadelphia roster that is aggressive in applying pressure on the perimeter.

With Smith signing his 10-day contract on Friday, he should be on the roster to see playing time against the Portland Trail Blazers, Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, and Sacramento Kings over the next week. Time will tell if Smith plays well enough to earn a second 10-day deal, but for now, he’s enjoying the fact that he was finally able to make his NBA debut.

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