Real Madrid has advanced negotiations for the signing of Nick Smith Jr., according to journalist Chema de Lucas and confirmed by several specialized media outlets. The 22-year-old American shooting guard from the Los Angeles Lakers would be experiencing European basketball for the first time. The deal is not yet officially closed.
His 2025-26 Numbers
Here we need to look at two different places, because last season he split time between the NBA and its affiliate.
In the NBA, he played 30 games with the Lakers, averaging 6.2 points in 12.5 minutes and shooting 39.5 percent from three-point range. He spent almost the entire season on a two-way contract and was promoted to the 15-man roster just before the playoffs to make him eligible.
In the G League, however, he was a standout. With the South Bay Lakers, he played 18 games averaging 19.7 points, 5 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 29.2 minutes, shooting 49.8 percent from the field and 37 percent from three.
That contrast explains the signing. Madrid is not acquiring the 12-minutes-per-game player, but rather the one who dominates when he has the ball and playing time, betting that the second profile will translate to European basketball.
Who He Is
Selected 27th overall in the 2023 Draft by the Charlotte Hornets after just one season at Arkansas, Smith spent his first two seasons in Charlotte, where he accumulated 111 games. In 2024-25, he posted his best numbers: 9.9 points, 2.4 assists and 2.1 rebounds in 22.8 minutes across 60 games with 27 starts.
The Hornets released him in September 2025 and the Lakers signed him days later on a two-way contract. In total, he has 141 NBA games under his belt, averaging 7.6 points.
He stands 1.96 meters tall, not 1.88 as has been reported in some outlets, and his profile is more of a scoring shooting guard than a pure point guard.
Fit Within Real Madrid's Roster
He would arrive at a perimeter group that already includes Facundo Campazzo, Andrés Feliz, Max Shulga and Gabriele Procida, in addition to Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot, who just signed 26 points and a 27 rating at the Costa del Sol Tournament.
It is yet another move by a Madrid side that has overhauled much of its roster this summer, with seven interior options following the signing of Damian Jones and the loan of Eli John Ndiaye to Joventut as a result of that accumulation.