LOS ANGELES -- Dennis Smith Jr. will put his physical skills on display Saturday night in the Verizon Slam Dunk Contest.
But his personality already has been a hit during the first couple of days of the NBA's All-Star weekend.
For instance, when Smith was informed that Boston rookie Jaylen Brown pegged the Mavericks rookie as his choice to win the dunk show, Smith nodded.
"He just got accepted into Harvard or something like that," Smith said. "He's a very intellectual young man. He's brilliant."
Much laughter from media members around him ensued. It was another sign that the more Smith gets comfortable with this job known as being a pro basketball player, the better he's getting at it, both from a production standpoint and in being a go-to player for the scribes.