WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The storybook career of Purdue point guard Braden Smith reached another milestone on Wednesday night when the Chicago Bulls selected him with the 38th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. The Bulls then traded Smith to the Indiana Pacers, keeping the star in his home state.
Smith, who entered Purdue as the No. 216-ranked recruit in the country in the Class of 2022, becomes Purdue’s first point guard chosen in the NBA Draft since Everette Stephens in 1988. He is the third Purdue guard selected since 2019, joining Carsen Edwards (2019) and Jaden Ivey (2022).
Since the 2016 NBA Draft, Purdue has now had six players ranked No. 75 or lower in the high school recruiting rankings selected, the second most in the country (A.J. Hammons, Vince Edwards, Carsen Edwards, Jaden Ivey, Zach Edey, Braden Smith).
One of the most statistically-dominating players in NCAA history, Smith heard his name early in Wednesday’s second round, becoming the XXth selection of the Matt Painter era and Purdue’s seventh selection since 2016.
“We are thrilled for Braden to be selected by the Pacers in the NBA Draft. It’s a great spot for him and the Pacers are an outstanding organization that know him very well,” head coach Matt Painter said. “From day one, Braden has showed the resolve, determination and attitude to get to the next level and this is the first step toward achieving that dream. He has a lot of work ahead of him obviously, but he has the drive to compete in the best basketball league in the world.”
Smith is the 11th draft pick under Painter joining Carl Landry (2007), JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore (2011), Robbie Hummel (2012), A.J. Hammons (2016), Caleb Swanigan (2017), Vince Edwards (2018), Carsen Edwards (2019), Jaden Ivey (2022) and Zach Edey (2024). Seven of the picks have come in the last 11 drafts.
The three-time first-team All-Big Ten honoree just capped off one of the greatest careers for a point guard in NCAA history. In addition to being a two-time first-team All-American, Smith was a three-time first-team All-Big Ten honoree, the 2025 Cousy Award winner and 2026 Big Ten Tournament MVP and West Regional All-Tournament team member.
Smith ended his career as the fourth player in school history to be named a consensus first-team All-American twice, joining legends Terry Dischinger (1961, 1962), Rick Mount (1969, 1970) and Zach Edey (2023, 2024) as two-time first-team All-Americans.
As a senior, Smith ended the season averaging 14.3 points, 8.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals, shooting 44.0 percent from the field and 82.5 percent from the free throw line. He finished the season with 345 assists, leading the country and ranking fifth all-time on the NCAA single-season assists list, recording the second-most assists in a season in the last 35 years (351 by Kendall Marshall, North Carolina; 2012). Smith became just the second player in NCAA history to have at least 550 points (557), 325 assists (345) and 125 rebounds (138) in a single, joining Murray State standout Ja Morant (2018-19 season) on the list.
Smith became the NCAA’s all-time leader in career assists in the NCAA Tournament first-round victory over Queens, ending his career with 1,103 assists, 27 more than Duke’s Bobby Hurley (1991-94).
Smith is the only player in NCAA history to have at least 1,500 points, 1,000 assists and 500 rebounds and he blew away those marks with 1,932 career points, 1,103 career assists and 673 career rebounds. He is one of two players in NCAA history to have at least 300 assists in two different seasons (Southern’s Avery Johnson; 1987 and 1988) and is the only player in NCAA history to have three seasons of at least 450 points, 250 assists and 125 rebounds.
In addition to being the NCAA’s all-time leader in career assists, Smith is also the NCAA leader in career minutes played by a four-year player with 5,067 minutes.
On the Purdue career record board, Smith is the all-time leader in minutes played (5,067), games played (149), games started (149) and assists (1,103), while ranking eighth in points (1,932), third in steals (249), 16th in rebounds (673), sixth in 3-pointers made (241), ninth in free throw percentage (.832), 13th in double-doubles (27) and third in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.79).
Smith was named the 2025 Cousy Award winner, given to the nation’s top point guard.