After all the drills and the competitive three-on-three action, Zhaire Smith slung his reversible Washington Wizards’ practice jersey over his right shoulder. When Ernie Grunfeld approached, Smith, who had a breakout freshman season at Texas Tech before declaring for the NBA draft, locked eyes with the team president and engaged in a lengthy conversation.

Troy Brown Jr., another one-and-done player looking to become a first-round pick in June 21’s draft, stood nearby taking swigs of water before grabbing a basketball to get up more shots. Once Smith’s talk with Grunfeld concluded, the competitors passed one another. No words were exchanged. They looked through one another. Neither slowed his pace, but they exchanged low fives for what could have been the umpteenth time this spring.

On Monday, the Wizards hosted their most intriguing pre-draft workout of the year. Brown and Smith, a couple of wing players, could remain on the draft board when Washington picks 15th. Besides their affinity to disrobe after workouts — they were the only ones in a group of six to shed their shirts — Brown and Smith are fighting for the same spot across several teams.

The Wizards’ workout marked their third paired effort to distinguish themselves both from one another and a draft class crowded with wings.

“Honestly, I feel like for me and Zhaire, it’s fun,” said Brown, who was also going up against Jaylen Adams, Angel Delgado, Alan Herndon and Elie Okobo. “We enjoy playing against each other. We’re both competitors and like seeing each other so much it brings the best out of us. You know, just playing hard.

“We’re always on our toes,” Brown continued. “We know one another is going to come at each other and compete.”

The teenage phenoms are easy to separate. Brown, who won’t turn 19 until July, was considered a late first-rounder but has shot up the draft board over the last several weeks after participating in numerous workouts, while Smith has established himself as a potential lottery pick who could get scooped up before the 15th selection.

With a highlight reel that includes a 360-degree alley-oop finish during March Madness, Smith enters every workout with a reputation as an athletic leaper. He’s not afraid to depend on his greatest strengths.

“I just always go with my natural habitat and that’s leaping, driving,” Smith said. “Just whatever the defense gives me. If they on me and I feel like I can go by them, I’ll probably try to go by them 10 times until they stop it. But if they try to take it away, then I can show that I can shoot.”

Brown, on the other hand, spends his auditions convincing team executives that he’s a 6-foot-7 playmaker who wasn’t a bad shooter during his one season at Oregon (29 percent from the three-point arc) but one who needs to improve his shot selection.

“Going into the workouts, I don’t think a lot of people expected a lot out of me just because of the season I had,” Brown said. “I just feel like when I came in [the draft process] a lot of people had lower expectations from me as a player. I know who I am as a player and what I can do on the court, so when I’m out there comfortable and I’m scoring, passing and playing defense and stuff like that, teams are kind of like amazed by it. But for me, it’s just something I’ve been doing ever since high school.”

Although they differ on the court, both players acknowledge that wings aren’t in short supply in the upcoming draft. Get past the big men at the top of the mock drafts — Deandre Ayton, Marvin Bagley III and Mo Bamba — and the 2018 class is littered with wings and guards who fit into today’s league of positionless basketball.

“I believe there’s a lot of good wings and shooting guards,” Smith said. “It’s a tough draft, really.”

The prospect of getting lost in the crowd does not worry either player. Brown — who also had a bare-chested chat with Grunfeld and later smiled while explaining it as his way of feeling comfortable on this stage — oozes ease and confidence. Whether he’s competing in another matchup with Smith or being compared to another wing in the draft, Brown believes he’ll hold his own.

“Honestly, I feel like there are a lot of wings in our class but you know, I feel like I’m only like the true tall, versatile player in the draft,” Brown said. “Personally, I feel like there’s not a lot of height to the wings going on right now but I don’t know, I feel comfortable with it. And I like being unique, so the versatility gives me a lot of room to operate and a lot of different things to showcase my ability.”

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