Power forward Jabari Smith Jr. said the NBA will see “a whole different player” wearing the No. 1 jersey of the Houston Rockets this season.

No. 1 for the Rockets is Smith, and, in his second NBA season, he said he’s eager to “show what I added to my game, show what I’ve learned. Just be more confident and more consistent, and I’m like a whole different player really — confidence-wise, swagger-wise, just a whole different player.”

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On the way to its 2023-24 regular-season opener on Oct. 25, Houston will play the New Orleans Pelicans at 7 p.m. CDT Thursday at Legacy Arena in Birmingham in an NBA preseason game.

It will be a return to Alabama for Smith, who averaged 16.9 points and 7.4 rebounds at Auburn in the 2021-22 season, then departed for the NBA as the third selection in the 2022 draft.

Smith averaged 12.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists while starting 79 games for the Rockets last season, when he earned second-team recognition in the NBA’s All-Rookie selections.

In his final 20 games of the 2022-23 season, Smith averaged 15.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists and reached his scoring high with 30 points in a 134-125 loss to the Indiana Pacers on March 9.

That late-season progression seemed to be on display at the NBA 2K24 Summer League in Las Vegas in July, when Smith totaled 70 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and two blocks in two games. Despite his limited appearances, Smith was chosen for the All-Summer League second team.

Since last season, Smith said he’s “just gotten stronger, more maturity, more sure, like just knowing where to be, knowing spots, and just those roller coasters, I feel like, I can avoid just off my experience of one year, like just knowing how to get through it, liking the film room more and just having the veterans around me to help me and a great coaching staff. I feel like this year will be great for me.”

Something else that Smith hopes will be different for the Rockets this season is their record.

After making the postseason for eight straight seasons without reaching the NBA Finals, Houston scrapped its James Harden/Russell Westbrook axis to build through the draft.

Over the past three seasons, the Rockets have a 59-177 record.

“The losing – I didn’t enjoy it last year,” Smith said. “I know the people who were on the team before me didn’t enjoy it, so it’s just time to change it, and that has to be the mindset going into every game, so just a team that’s hungry – hungry for change, hungry for what’s next, a new chapter.”

Houston used the second pick in the 2021 NBA Draft on guard Jalen Green, and he averaged 22.1 points per game last season. After getting Smith and power forward Tari Eason in the first round last year, the Rockets took Overtime Elite forward Amen Thompson at No. 4 and Connecticut forward Cam Whitmore at No. 20 in this year’s draft.

But Houston also sought to augment its young core during the offseason by signing two starting players in free agency in small forward Dillon Brooks from the Memphis Grizzlies and point guard Fred VanVleet from the Toronto Raptors and adding veterans Reggie Bullock and Jeff Green to the depth, with “Uncle Jeff” coming off a championship season with the Denver Nuggets.

The Rockets also have a new coach with Ime Udoka, who posted a 51-31 record and guided the Boston Celtics to the 2022 NBA Finals.

“You have no choice but to be excited,” Smith said. “You’re bringing in two NBA champions. You got Jeff Green and Fred VanVleet. Then you got Dillon Brooks, who’s been deep in the playoffs. You just got people who can bring that winning culture and help turn this thing around. I can’t do nothing but be excited. And as for the coaching staff, you got winning coaches.”

Houston tipped off its preseason schedule on Tuesday night with a 122-103 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Smith had 14 points, seven rebounds and one block in 23:11 on the court.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.