The undrafted Nae’Qwan Tomlin managed to get under the skin of the former top-three pick Jabari Smith Jr. during Wednesday’s game.
Tomlin and the Cleveland Cavaliers faced off against Smith and the Houston Rockets. In the second quarter at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, Smith and Tomlin got tangled up while boxing out for a rebound.
Smith then proceeded to shove Tomlin off him, and Tomlin then got directly into Smith’s face with some expletives. As a result, Smith gave Tomlin another hard shove.
The two players ended up receiving offsetting technical fouls for the incident. Smith also got a flagrant-1 foul for shoving Tomlin, resulting in two free throws for the Cavaliers.
Here is the full video of the altercation.
Jabari Smith Jr. and Nae'Qwan Tomlin received offsetting double technical fouls after this play.
— ESPN (@espn) November 20, 2025
Smith Jr. also received a flagrant 1 foul. pic.twitter.com/PiuSBo0D0q
Another angle of the fireworks can be seen here.
Love this from Jabari Smith Jr. pic.twitter.com/V3HivzLG0h
— Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) November 20, 2025
Smith, 22, was the No. 3 overall pick by the Rockets in 2022. Meanwhile, Tomlin, 24, has had a very different journey to the NBA after going undrafted in 2024. He spent some time playing in the G League before eventually landing a two-way contract from the Cavaliers.
If nothing else, Smith certainly does not back down from a challenge. You may recall that he was involved in another heated incident a couple of seasons ago that actually resulted in punches being thrown.
