 Smith with the Pistons in January 2014 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1985-12-05)December 5, 1985 (age 39) College Park, Georgia, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | McEachern (Powder Springs, Georgia) Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia) |
| NBA draft | 2004: 1st round, 17th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Atlanta Hawks |
| Playing career | 2004–2017 |
| Position | Power forward /small forward |
| Number | 5, 6 |
| Career history | |
| 2004–2013 | Atlanta Hawks |
| 2013–2014 | Detroit Pistons |
| 2014–2015 | Houston Rockets |
| 2015–2016 | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 2016 | Houston Rockets |
| 2016–2017 | Sichuan Blue Whales |
| 2017 | New Orleans Pelicans |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 12,996 (14.5 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 6,653 (7.4 rpg) |
| Blocks | 1,713 (1.9 bpg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Joshua Smith (born December 5, 1985) is an American former professionalbasketball player who played 13 seasons in theNational Basketball Association (NBA). Entering the NBA straight out of high school, Smith played nine seasons with theAtlanta Hawks, for theDetroit Pistons,Houston Rockets andLos Angeles Clippers between 2013 and 2016. His final stint in the NBA came in November 2017 with theNew Orleans Pelicans. He is sometimes referred to by his nickname "J-Smoove".[1]
Smith attendedJohn McEachern High inPowder Springs,Georgia. During the summer before his senior year, he played alongside future NBA playersRandolph Morris andDwight Howard on the Atlanta CelticsAAU team.[2][3] Smith transferred toOak Hill Academy for his senior year where he was teammates withRajon 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 asRivals.com rated him the third best overall player in the nation and the number one small forward.[5] Smith committed to play forIndiana University but he decided to forgo college and enter the NBA draft.[4][6]
Smith was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 17th overall pick in the2004 NBA draft.[7] He won theNBA Slam Dunk Contest his rookie year during the 2005 NBA All-Star Weekend.[8] He became only the fifth player to record three perfect scores in the same contest along withJason Richardson,Vince Carter,Spud Webb, andMichael Jordan.[9] Smith averaged 9.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.95 blocks per game for the2004–05 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.[10] He ended the2006–07 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 theMilwaukee Bucks.[11]
On April 28, 2008, in Game 4 of their first round series, Smith set playoff career highs of 28 points and 7 blocks in a 97–92 upset victory over the top-seededBoston Celtics.[12] Despite being the 8-seed, the Hawks would ultimately push the Celtics to seven games before losing the series, and the Celtics would go on to win the2008 NBA Finals.[13] That offseason, on August 8, 2008, Smith signed an offer sheet with theMemphis Grizzlies, but the Hawks quickly matched the offer sheet.[14][15][16]
On February 2, 2010, in a 99–106 loss to theOklahoma City Thunder, Smith became the youngest player (at 24 years old) to record 1,000 career blocked shots.[17] At season's end, he was named to theNBA All-Defensive Second Team for the first time in his career.
On March 31, 2012, Smith scored 34 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in a 95–90 loss to theChicago Bulls.[18] That postseason, on April 29, Smith led the Hawks to a Game 1 win over theBoston Celtics with 22 points and 18 rebounds.[19] However, the Hawks lost the following three games, eventually losing the series 4–2.[20]
On July 10, 2013, Smith signed with theDetroit Pistons[21] on a reported four-year, $54 million deal.[22]
On December 13, 2013, Smith scored 31 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in an 111–109 overtime loss to thePortland Trail Blazers.[23] 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 theDallas Mavericks.[24] 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 October 29, 2014, during Detroit's season opener, Smith scored what would be a season high 25 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in a 89–79 loss to theDenver Nuggets.[25] On December 22, 2014, Smith was waived by the Pistons. In 28 games during the2014–15 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.[26]
On December 26, 2014, Smith signed with theHouston Rockets[27] 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 theMemphis Grizzlies.[28] 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 theNew Orleans Pelicans, Smith was moved back to the bench in order to help him get more comfortable with the team.[29]
During the2015 NBA Playoffs, Smith had multiple impressive games. In Game 2 of the first round against theDallas Mavericks, Smith tied his playoff career-high of 9 assists, 6 of which were alley-oops to childhood friend and former AAU teammateDwight 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 theLos 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.[30]
On July 16, 2015, Smith signed a one-year deal with theLos Angeles Clippers.[31][32] 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.[33]
On January 22, 2016, Smith was traded back to the Houston Rockets, along with the draft rights toSerhiy Lishchuk and cash considerations, in exchange for the draft rights toMaarty Leunen.[34] 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.[35] 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.[36] He topped that mark on February 2, scoring 19 points as a starter in a 115–102 win over the Miami Heat.[37]
On November 8, 2016, Smith signed a three-month, $1.5+ million contract with theSichuan Blue Whales of theChinese Basketball Association.[38] In his second game for Sichuan on November 16, 2016, Smith recorded 41 points, 19 rebounds, five blocks in a loss toGuangdong Southern Tigers. In the game, he shot 7-of-18 from three-point range.[39] He left the team in late January 2017, and in 26 games, he averaged 18.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.0 blocks in 29.5 minutes per game while making only one start.[40]
On September 28, 2017, Smith joined the Israeli teamMaccabi Haifa for their preseason U.S. tour, with the aim being to play in the NBA again.[41]
On October 28, 2017, Smith signed with theNew Orleans Pelicans to help the team deal with numerous injuries. New Orleans had to use the NBA hardship exemption to sign him as he made their roster stand at 16, one over the allowed limited of 15.[42] He appeared in three games for the Pelicans before being waived on November 10, 2017.[43]
In March 2019, Smith signed to play in theBig3 3-on-3 basketball league.[44][45]
| 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 |
| * | Led the league |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Houston | 23 | 6 | 18.3 | .343 | .271 | .480 | 2.9 | 2.1 | .7 | .6 | 6.6 | |
| 2017–18 | New Orleans | 3 | 0 | 4.0 | .250 | .000 | .000 | 1.3 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .7 |
| Career | 894 | 772 | 32.4 | .452 | .285 | .632 | 7.4 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 14.5 | |
| 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 | |
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Youngest player in NBA history to record:
Smith is one of five children born toPete and Paulette Smith. His father was a professional basketball player during the 1970s and played in theAmerican Basketball Association (ABA).[46] His mother ran in the 2022 Republican primary forGeorgia's 6th congressional district.[47] He married Alexandria Lopez on July 31, 2010. The couple have three children (two sons and one daughter).[48]
