INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) -- Former Purdue star Braden Smith worked out with his hometown team, the Indiana Pacers, on Monday ahead of the NBA Draft.
Smith, a Westfield native, said the workout went well.
"Obviously being 30 minutes from home and being here, obviously I'm well connected with a lot of people here and kind of feels like a family," Smith said. "So for me to be back here and be with everybody was awesome."
This was his fourth workout ahead of the NBA Draft. He said he was working out with the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday and the Denver Nuggets on Thursday as well.
Smith knew having the opportunity to play in the NBA could be in his future when he got to Purdue.
"I always knew I'd be able to play because I feel like I'm smart enough to play," Smith said. "I have the IQ to play. I can pass. I can score. I can do all those things for any team out here that needs that."
He is trying to overcome a common criticism of his game that he has faced his entire career, but has no control over -- his height. He said that's been the only feedback he's been given in the NBA Draft process on ways to improve.
"It's just all size," Smith said. "That's really it... Size has always been an issue and I've always found a way around it."
Indeed he has found a way around it. Smith is the NCAA all-time assist leader, dishing out 1,103 assists in his career in West Lafayette. He was also the Big Ten Player of the Year in the 2024-25 season and a two-time All-American.
"You got to go play basketball," Smith said. "You got to go out and produce. You got to play the right way. You got to play smart. You got to make reads. You got to make decisions. You got to play hard."
Smith got to share the court on Monday with someone he assisted a lot at Purdue, Trey Kaufman-Renn, who also worked out with the Pacers. Smith said it was good to see him, but it was weird to play against him.
"He can do everything on the basketball floor," Kaufman-Renn said about Smith. "There's not a hole in his game. He shoots well at three levels. He scores. Plays hard on the defensive end."
Smith averaged 13.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game in his career at Purdue.
The Pacers do not have a pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. The first round of the draft is set for June 23 and the second round is set for June 24.
