The Chicago Bulls have selected Purdue guard Braden Smith No. 38 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft, which was traded to the Indiana Pacers. He is now a pro basketball player after spending the last four years with the Boilermakers.

Braden Smith worked his way to being one of the top point guards in college basketball after being a strong high school player. He was ranked No. 209 in Rivals Industry Rankings for the 2022 class. Smith was also ranked No. 35 for his position and No. 8 in the state of Indiana.

Smith had a memorable 2025-26 season. In 39 games, Smith averaged 14.3 points per game and recorded 354 assists, which led the country. He was selected to the All-America First Team for the second consecutive year, becoming the fourth player in Purdue history to be named a consensus first-team All-American twice. Smith helped Purdue win the Big Ten tournament championship and reach the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

At the NBA Combine, Smith measured with a 6-foot-3.25 wingspan and a max vertical of 38.5 inches. He also jumped 31 inches from the standing position before completing interviews with multiple teams.

The NBA does not assign specific contract values for second-round picks, allowing teams to negotiate with the player. While they are able to offer a fully-guaranteed deal, they can also offer non-guaranteed money to mitigate risk. This section will be updated when Smith’s contract is made public.

What NBA Draft analysts are saying about Braden Smith

Smith will rely on his playmaking ability to have success in the NBA. On3’s James Fletcher likes what Smith brings to the NBA, but there is one thing that could hurt him.

“Braden Smith is college basketball’s assist king, showing elite playmaking and the ability to orchestrate an offense from start to finish,” Fletcher said. “His size provides a real question mark, which could limit his ultimate role, but there is a floor with his level of leadership in the equation.”

NBA.com also shared its thoughts on Smith. It said that “Smith is a floor general, and he does it cleanly, maintaining one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios in the country while carrying a massive playmaking burden. He reads pick-and-rolls, delivers pocket passes and finds shooters on the weakside. His speed gets him into the teeth of the defense, and when opponents go under screens, he punishes them with a pull-up jumper.”