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Josh Smith

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This article is about the basketball player in the NBA. For other people named Josh Smith, see Joshua Smith.
Josh Smith
Smith during his tenure with the Atlanta Hawks
Sichuan Blue Whales
PositionPower forward / Small forward
LeagueChinese Basketball Association
Personal information
Born (1985-12-05) December 5, 1985 (age 38)
College Park, Georgia
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High schoolMcEachern
(Powder Springs, Georgia)
Oak Hill Academy
(Mouth of Wilson, Virginia)
NBA draft2004: 1st round, 17th overall pick
Selected by the Atlanta Hawks
Playing career2004–present
Career history
2004–2013Atlanta Hawks
2013–2014Detroit Pistons
2014–2015Houston Rockets
2015–2016Los Angeles Clippers
2016Houston Rockets
2016–presentSichuan Blue Whales
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Joshua "Josh" Smith (born December 5, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Sichuan Blue Whales of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Entering the NBA straight out of high school, Smith played nine seasons with the Atlanta Hawks before playing for the Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers between 2013 and 2016. He is sometimes referred to by his nickname "J-Smoove".[1]

High school career

Smith attended John McEachern High in Powder Springs, Georgia. During the summer before his senior year, he played alongside future NBA players Randolph Morris and Dwight Howard on the Atlanta Celtics AAU team.[2][3] Smith transferred to Oak Hill Academy for his senior year where he was teammates with Rajon Rondo. He averaged 22 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 blocks, and 3 steals per game on the season, helping lead Oak Hill to 38-0 record.[4] Smith was highly recruited as Rivals.com rated him the third best overall player in the nation and the number one small forward.[5] Smith committed to play for Indiana University but he decided to forgo college and enter the NBA draft.[4][6]

Professional career

Atlanta Hawks (2004–2013)

Smith was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 17th overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft.[7] He won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest his rookie year during the 2005 NBA All-Star Weekend. He became only the fifth player to record three perfect scores in the same contest along with Jason Richardson, Vince Carter, Spud Webb, and Michael Jordan.[8] Smith averaged 9.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.95 blocks per game for the 2004–05 season and was selected to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

On March 3, 2007, Smith broke the 500 career block mark, making him the youngest player to do so in NBA history.[9] He ended the 2006–07 season with averages of 16.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.9 blocks per game. On November 17, 2007, Smith scored a career-high 38 points on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks.[10]

On August 8, 2008, Smith signed an offer sheet with the Memphis Grizzlies, but the Hawks quickly matched the offer sheet.[11][12][13]

On February 2, 2010, in a 99–106 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Smith became the youngest player (at 24 years old) to record 1,000 career blocked shots.[14] At season's end, he was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team for the first time in his career.

Smith with the Pistons in 2014

Detroit Pistons (2013–2014)

On July 10, 2013, Smith signed with the Detroit Pistons[15] on a reported four-year, $54 million deal.[16]

On February 22, 2014, Smith recorded a first half career high of 24 points as he went on to finish with a season high of 32 in a 102–113 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.[17] He finished his first season in Detroit with averages of 16.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game

On December 22, 2014, Smith was waived by the Pistons. In 28 games during the 2014–15 season, Smith averaged 13.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game, while shooting 39.1% from the field, 24.3% from three point range and 46.8% from the free throw line. In 105 career games with the Pistons, Smith averaged 15.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.[18]

Houston Rockets (2014–2015)

On December 26, 2014, Smith signed with the Houston Rockets[19] and went on to make his debut that night. In just under 32 minutes of action off the bench, he recorded 21 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in the Rockets' 117-111 overtime win over the Memphis Grizzlies.[20] Following that game, Smith was moved into the starting lineup but struggled as the Rockets won only one of their next four games. After a blowout loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, Smith was moved back to the bench in order to help him get more comfortable with the team.[21]

During the 2015 NBA Playoffs, Smith had multiple impressive games. In Game 2 of the first round against the Dallas Mavericks, Smith tied his playoff career-high of 9 assists, 6 of which were alley-oops to childhood friend and former AAU teammate Dwight Howard, as he helped lead the Rockets to victory. He later scored 23 and 20 points in Games 4 and 5, respectively, as the Rockets won the series in five games. In Game 6 of the conference semi-finals against the Los Angeles Clippers, he scored 19 points, 14 coming in the fourth quarter, as he led a comeback from 19 points down in an elimination game on the road to force, and eventually win, a decisive Game 7. During the playoffs, Smith made a career-high 38% of his three-point attempts.[22]

Los Angeles Clippers (2015–2016)

On July 16, 2015, Smith signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Clippers.[23][24] He made his debut for the Clippers in the team's season opener against the Sacramento Kings on October 28, recording 1 point, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks off the bench in a 111–104 win.[25]

Return to Houston (2016)

On January 22, 2016, Smith was traded back to the Houston Rockets, along with the draft rights to Serhiy Lishchuk and cash considerations, in exchange for the draft rights to Maarty Leunen.[26] He made his return game for the Rockets later that night, recording 2 points (on 1-of-10 shooting), 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks in a 102–98 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.[27] Two days later, in his second game back for the Rockets, Smith scored a then season-high 16 points in a 115–104 win over the Dallas Mavericks.[28] He topped that mark on February 2, scoring 19 points as a starter in a 115–102 win over the Miami Heat.[29]

Sichuan Blue Whales (2016–present)

On November 8, 2016, Smith signed a three-month, $1.5+ million contract with the Sichuan Blue Whales of the Chinese Basketball Association.[30]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2004–05 Atlanta 74 59 27.7 .455 .174 .688 6.2 1.7 .8 1.9 9.7
2005–06 Atlanta 80 73 32.0 .425 .309 .719 6.6 2.4 .8 2.6 11.3
2006–07 Atlanta 72 72 36.8 .439 .250 .693 8.6 3.3 1.4 2.9 16.4
2007–08 Atlanta 81 81 35.5 .457 .253 .710 8.2 3.4 1.5 2.8 17.2
2008–09 Atlanta 69 69 35.1 .492 .299 .588 7.2 2.4 1.4 1.6 15.6
2009–10 Atlanta 81 81 35.4 .505 .000 .618 8.7 4.2 1.6 2.1 15.7
2010–11 Atlanta 77 77 34.4 .477 .331 .725 8.5 3.3 1.3 1.6 16.5
2011–12 Atlanta 66 66 35.3 .458 .257 .630 9.6 3.9 1.4 1.7 18.8
2012–13 Atlanta 76 76 35.3 .465 .303 .517 8.4 4.2 1.2 1.8 17.5
2013–14 Detroit 77 76 35.5 .419 .264 .532 6.8 3.3 1.4 1.4 16.4
2014–15 Detroit 28 28 32.0 .391 .243 .468 7.2 4.7 1.3 1.7 13.1
2014–15 Houston 55 7 25.5 .438 .330 .521 6.0 2.6 .9 1.2 12.0
2015–16 L.A. Clippers 32 1 14.3 .383 .310 .595 3.9 1.3 .6 1.1 5.7
2015–16 Houston 23 6 18.3 .343 .271 .480 2.9 2.1 .7 .6 6.6
Career 891 772 32.5 .453 .285 .632 7.5 3.1 1.2 1.9 14.6

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008 Atlanta 7 7 33.9 .398 .167 .841 6.4 2.9 1.7 2.9 15.7
2009 Atlanta 11 11 37.3 .421 .133 .732 7.5 2.2 1.1 1.5 17.1
2010 Atlanta 11 11 35.6 .481 .333 .659 9.0 2.6 1.2 1.7 14.1
2011 Atlanta 12 12 36.5 .404 .125 .597 8.5 2.9 1.1 2.1 15.1
2012 Atlanta 5 5 39.2 .386 .000 .762 13.6 4.8 .6 1.0 16.8
2013 Atlanta 6 6 33.2 .433 .250 .528 7.5 3.5 1.8 .5 17.0
2015 Houston 17 8 23.3 .438 .380 .432 5.6 2.7 .5 1.0 13.5
2016 Houston 4 0 9.5 .462 .500 .000 .5 1.0 .3 .3 4.0
Career 73 60 31.6 .426 .277 .627 7.4 2.8 1.0 1.5 14.6

NBA records

Youngest player in NBA history to record:

  • 10 blocked shots in a game, Atlanta Hawks at Dallas Mavericks, December 18, 2004 (19 years, 13 days)
  • 500 career blocked shots, Atlanta Hawks vs. New York Knicks, March 3, 2007 (21 years, 88 days) (206 games)
  • 1,000 career blocked shots, Atlanta Hawks at Oklahoma City Thunder, February 2, 2010 (24 years, 59 days) (423 games)

Personal life

Smith is one of five children born to Pete and Paulette Smith. His siblings are Walter, Phebe, Kasola and Shanti. He married Alexandria Lopez on July 31, 2010. The couple have three children (two sons and one daughter).[31][32]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Atlanta Hawks' Josh Smith Has a New Nickname… [VIDEO]". straightfromthea.com. October 26, 2010. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  2. ^ "Josh Smith/Randolph Morris Feature Story". NBA.com. November 4, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  3. ^ Givony, Jonathan (May 29, 2004). "Interview: Josh Smith". DraftExpress.com. Retrieved May 29, 2004.
  4. ^ a b "Oak Hill's Josh Smith jilts IU for NBA". USAToday.com. April 20, 2004. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2004. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "Joshua Smith – Yahoo! Sports". Yahoo.com. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  6. ^ Paulen, David (April 1, 2004). "Top recruit all but says goodbye to IU basketball". IDSNews.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2004. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "NBA Draft history: 2004 Draft". NBA.com. February 27, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  8. ^ "JOSH SMITH WINS SPRITE RISING STARS SLAM DUNK TITLE". NBA.com. February 19, 2005. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  9. ^ "Marbury, Francis take control as Knicks knock down Hawks". ESPN. March 3, 2007. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
  10. ^ "Bogut, Redd score 21 each; Milwaukee extends Atlanta's road woes". ESPN. November 17, 2007. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  11. ^ "Josh Smith Signed to an Offer Sheet by the Memphis Grizzlies". bleacherreport.com. August 8, 2008. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
  12. ^ "Hawks match Grizzlies' $58M offer sheet, retain Smith". ESPN. August 11, 2008. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
  13. ^ Kent, Austin (August 17, 2008). "Never Send a Human to do a Machine's Job". TheGoodPoint.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved August 17, 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ "Josh Smith - Youngest Player to 1000 Blocks". NBA.com. February 2, 2010. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  15. ^ "Detroit Pistons Sign Free Agent Forward Josh Smith". NBA.com. July 10, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  16. ^ "Josh Smith inks $54M, 4-year deal". ESPN. July 11, 2013. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  17. ^ "Notebook: Mavericks 113, Pistons 102". NBA.com. February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
  18. ^ "Pistons waive forward Josh Smith". NBA.com. December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  19. ^ "Free Agent Josh Smith Joins Houston Rockets". NBA.com. December 26, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  20. ^ "Rockets top Grizzlies in overtime in Smith's debut". NBA.com. December 27, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  21. ^ Feigen, Jonathan (January 8, 2015). "Kevin McHale says recent role of Josh Smith related to 'getting him comfortable'". Chron.com. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  22. ^ "Josh Smith 2014-15 Game Log". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  23. ^ "LA CLIPPERS SIGN JOSH SMITH". NBA.com. July 16, 2015. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  24. ^ "Josh Smith to play for Los Angeles Clippers". ESPN. July 17, 2015. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  25. ^ "Griffin leads Clippers past Kings 111-104 in opener". NBA.com. October 28, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  26. ^ "Rockets Acquire Forward Josh Smith". NBA.com. January 22, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  27. ^ "Smith's return helps Rockets to 102-98 win over Bucks". NBA.com. January 22, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  28. ^ "Harden's triple-double leads Rockets over Mavericks 115-104". NBA.com. January 24, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  29. ^ "Harden's 26 points lead Rockets over Heat 115-102". NBA.com. February 2, 2016. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  30. ^ "Josh Smith signs in China with Sichuan Whales". Sportando.com. November 8, 2016. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  31. ^ "NBA's Players And Their Wives". TheRichest.com. February 11, 2011. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  32. ^ "Josh Smith Stats, Video, Bio, Profile". NBA.com. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
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