Sixers newcomer Terquavion Smith’s fearless mentality on display during NBA Summer League

In less than one quarter of action, Terquavion Smith slung a midair pass to Jaden Springer for a three-pointer, then lofted the ball to Ricky Council for an alley-oop slam. Then came his own scoring burst, when Smith buried two three-pointers before using a slippery move to get to the rim.

That stretch during a game against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City captures the impact of one of the 76ers’ newcomers who has immediately become one of their top summer league performers. Smith has fearlessly launched from deep, slithered past defenders with his dribble, and set up teammates as the offense’s primary organizer.

Smith called this a “chaotic” start to his professional career, after going undrafted out of North Carolina State and signing a two-way contract with the Sixers. Yet it is the beginning of the wiry guard’s quest to prove he can be an NBA player, an opportunity that Smith’s former coach expects him to seize.

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“I was disappointed that he didn’t get his name called [at the draft], because of all the hard work that he’s put into it,” N.C. State’s Kevin Keatts recently told The Inquirer by phone. “But as the draft was going on and his name wasn’t getting called, the one thing I kept saying was, ‘All this is going to do is really motivate him.’ …

“The biggest thing about him is this guy is the ultimate competitor. He thrives for situations where he feels like he may be disrespected.”

Smith said that mentality stems from his upbringing. He grew up in Greenville, N.C., with parents who were separated but co-raised four children. Smith described his neighborhood as “really rough,” which inspired him to “overwork for everything.”

“It was either playing basketball or doing something I had no business doing,” Smith told The Inquirer from the Sixers’ practice facility, before the summer league team departed for Salt Lake City and then Las Vegas. “Even watching my friends, shoot, go down the wrong path kind of affected it, too. It’s just the heart, you know?”

Keatts instantly noticed Smith’s competitiveness while watching him star for Farmville Central High School — including during a game when Smith chipped his tooth but kept playing. The coach offered a 15-year-old Smith a scholarship following an unofficial visit to a football game, which left the family so stunned that his father, Terrance, called back to ask, “Are you sure?” Keatts “absolutely” was, even though he heard outside rumblings that Smith’s 6-foot-4, 165-pound frame was not big or strong enough to hold up against the ACC’s blue-blood programs.

Instead, Smith was an instant-impact freshman, averaging 16.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.3 steals. His 96 three-pointers made were the most by a freshman in school history. But the Wolfpack sputtered to an 11-21 record. When Smith went through last year’s predraft process — including a meeting with the Sixers at the NBA Combine — he received feedback that teams wanted to see him facilitate more and have a greater impact on winning.

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Those two elements are connected, Keatts said. A struggling 2021-22 roster needed Smith to be more of a scorer. But Smith opting to return for his sophomore season meant N.C. State could play him and transfer combo guard Jarkel Joiner together. Smith upped his assist average to 4.1 per game, while also increasing his scoring average to 17.9 points. Keatts also commended that Smith never missed a game — even after he took a horrific fall at North Carolina that required him to be carried off the floor — and that, whenever he received in-game breaks, Smith “probably cheered more than anybody I’ve ever had for his teammates.”

That all anchored a turnaround season for N.C. State, which went 23-11 and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Smith then perhaps delivered his best college performance when he dropped 32 points on sixth-seeded Creighton by coming off screens, draining three-pointers and driving to the basket. Though the Wolfpack lost, 72-63, Creighton coach Greg McDermott recently told Keatts that Smith was “the only guy that could score” on two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year Ryan Kalkbrenner and the Bluejays’ drop-coverage scheme.

“I knew he was a pro,” Keatts said of Smith. “But kind of solidified that in my mind.”

Smith gathered family and friends for a draft party in late June but never heard his name called. Disappointment quickly shifted to appreciation for the Sixers “believing in me to give me the chance.” Before he had even joined the organization, Smith cited Sixers electric guard Tyrese Maxey as a player after whom he modeled his game. And Keatts thinks Smith’s skill set is more suited for the professional level, because the floor is more spaced than in college.

“I know that everybody wants me to work hard, so it’s just having that motivation,” Smith said of the Sixers following his first practice in Philly. “You ain’t never got to wake up and you don’t feel like [going to the facility]. That good energy, that travels and translates with everything you do. This staff has good energy. Everybody in here got good energy. So I just feed off of that.”

So far, Smith has flashed that against other young players fighting to demonstrate they belong.

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He scored in double figures in all five games so far in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, and totaled at least five assists three times. He perhaps had his most balanced game in a Saturday victory against the New York Knicks, finishing with 13 points, five assists, three blocks, and three steals — including a live-ball swipe that he turned into a thunderous one-handed dunk. He finished with 18 points, six assists and six rebounds in the Sixers’ 111-103 loss to the Dallas Mavericks Monday night.

Consider it an impressive first week in Smith’s quest to prove he is an NBA player.

“He just wants the opportunity to be put on the biggest stages,” Keatts said, “to show people how good he can be.”