The Cleveland Cavaliers earned their first Summer League win of 2024 on Sunday, and wing Zhaire Smith stole the show.
The 25-year-old, who played a significant role for Cleveland’s G League squad in the 2023-24 season, threw down a vicious dunk in Sunday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks that caused a stir on social media.
ZHAIRE SMITH WITH THE DUNK OF SUMMER LEAGUE pic.twitter.com/mYjlPCpYvO
— Basketball Poetry (@bballispoetry) July 14, 2024
Zhaire Smith just had one of the craziest posters I’ve seen in person lol
— Keandre Ashley (@HoopIntelllect) July 14, 2024
ZHAIRE SMITH. INSANE POSTER. #LetEmKnow
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) July 14, 2024
Zhaire Smith went from nearly dying to posterizing guys in the Summer League. Happy to see him hooping again, what a story
— Harrison Grimm (@Harrison_Grimm) July 14, 2024
Yes, @zhaire_smith did that 🤯🤯‼️pic.twitter.com/noUSGCKzCR
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) July 14, 2024
Oh baby…
Former Sixer Zhaire Smith with the best dunk in all of Summer League 👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/PKs1I67jDJ
— Josh Reynolds (@JoshReynolds24) July 14, 2024
Dunk of the Summer. 🔥 @zhaire_smith | #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/PYq9b3zwem
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) July 14, 2024
ZHAIRE SMITH POSTER. 🔥🔥🔥
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) July 14, 2024
Zhaire Smith with the BIG-TIME poster! 😱#NBA2KSummerLeague on NBA TV pic.twitter.com/YEPe4K7dy4
— NBA (@NBA) July 14, 2024
UNREAL. @zhaire_smith did that. 🤯 #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/kIyykMkbHI
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) July 14, 2024
Smith finished the game with nine points, three assists and one rebound across 18 minutes of playing time. He also came up with four steals on the defensive end, a team-high.
It was a far more memorable performance for him than Cleveland’s opening Summer League game was, when he was held scoreless across 13 minutes of action and got into foul trouble. The Cavs lost that game to the Orlando Magic.
Smith flashed some potential with the Cleveland Charge in the G League’s 2023-24 regular season. In 32 games, he averaged 13.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals per contest while shooting 54.8 percent from the field and 41.0 percent from deep.
He also has some NBA experience under his belt, having played with the Philadelphia 76ers in 13 regular-season games (and two playoff games) between the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.
Smith was originally a first-round pick, but some medical issues significantly impacted his career path. He’s now looking to prove his worth while he’s still young enough to have a long career in the league.
The Cavs currently have two remaining Summer League games scheduled, which will come against the Golden State Warriors on July 17 and the Los Angeles Lakers on July 18. It’s a safe bet that Smith will be looking to parlay his solid Sunday into a couple of additional productive performances in the coming week.
The fact that he was able to catch the attention of the social media world with his impressive dunk is certainly a good thing, as he could use some positive buzz to perhaps earn another opportunity at the NBA level. It will be interesting to see what the 2024-25 season looks like for him.
The Cavs are now 1-1 in Summer League action and will look to get over the .500 mark in their next game against the Warriors.
