Once again, a first round pick of the Philadelphia 76ers has suffered an injury before ever stepping foot on the court in a meaningful game. According to Yahoo Sports' Shams Charania, the Sixers' top pick in this year's draft, Zhaire Smith, fractured his left foot in Las Vegas on Monday while competing at an annual summer camp held by former NBA assistant coach Tim Grgurich.
Smith, the 16th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, will reportedly see another specialist in Philadelphia, but a surgery to repair his broken foot has already been scheduled for later this week. Of course, this is nothing new for the Philadelphia 76ers and their fan base as they've become accustomed to watching their first round picks go down with injuries.
In fact, the Jones fracture that Smith suffered is the same injury that kept Ben Simmons on the sidelines for his would-be rookie season after being drafted #1 overall in 2016.
In 2013, Nerlens Noel, a sixth overall selection, missed his entire rookie season due to a torn ACL he suffered at Kentucky. The following year, Joel Embiid missed his entire would-be rookie season and then missed another additional season in 2015 after suffering a setback on his fractured foot. Last year it was the Sixers' #1 overall pick Markelle Fultz who was sidelined with multiple injuries that dramatically impacted his shooting motion and caused him to miss most of his rookie season.
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