Javonte Dedrick Smart (born June 3, 1999) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Osceola Magic The Osceola Magic are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Kissimmee, Florida, and are affiliated with the Orlando Magic. The Magic began play in the 2017–18 season as the Lakeland Magic, and now play their ho ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the LSU Tigers.

High school career

Smart attended Scotlandville Magnet High School in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

and led the school to a state title as a freshman, earning MVP honors. As a sophomore, he averaged 22.4 points, 7.2 assists, and 6.9 rebounds per game. He participated in the Under Armour Elite 24 Showcase in August 2016. As a junior, Smart averaged 25.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game. He was named Gatorade Louisiana Player of the Year for the second consecutive season and led Scotlandville to a state title in 2017. As a senior, Smart averaged 32.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game, sometimes playing the center position. He led the team to a state title and was again named Player of the Year. Smart was considered a five-star recruit and was ranked 21st in his class according to

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on college recruiting, athletic recruitment in college football and college basketball, basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount Global, Paramount. The website hosts a large ...

. Smart committed to LSU over offers from

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

College career

On February 23, 2019, Smart scored a career-high 29 points and hit two free throws with 0.6 seconds remaining in an 82–80 win against

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. Smart missed one game during his freshman season, the regular season finale against Vanderbilt on March 7, after a report surfaced alleging coach Will Wade paid him during his recruitment. He returned for the SEC and NCAA tournaments after officials found no wrongdoing on Smart's part. As a freshman, Smart averaged 11.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. After the season, he declared for the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible p ...

but ultimately decided to return to LSU. As a sophomore, Smart averaged 12.5 points, 4.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. Following the season Smart declared for the

2020 NBA draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecticut, wi ...

but maintained his eligibility. Smart announced on August 3 that he was withdrawing from the draft and returning to LSU. As a junior, Smart averaged 16 points, 3.7 rebounds, four assists and 1.3 steals per game, earning Second Team All- SEC honors. He declared for the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. The NBA draft returned to Brooklyn after 2020 NBA draft, the pre ...

and hired an agent.

Professional career

Sioux Falls Skyforce / Milwaukee Bucks / Wisconsin Herd (2021–2022)

After going undrafted in the

, Smart joined the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

for the

2021 NBA Summer League The 2021 NBA Summer League was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the campus of University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The summer league c ...

and on September 10, he signed a contract with the Heat. He was waived prior to the start of the season and joined the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team has played its home games in the Sanford Pentagon since the 2013–14 ...

as an affiliate player. On November 30, 2021, Smart signed a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless o ...

with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. Under the terms of the deal, he split time between the Bucks and their

affiliate, the

Wisconsin Herd The Wisconsin Herd are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and are affiliated with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Herd play their home games at Oshkosh Arena. History On June 29, 2016, it was anno ...

. However, he was waived on January 13, 2022.

Miami Heat / Return to Sioux Falls (2022)

On January 16, 2022, the Sioux Falls Skyforce reacquired Smart. On February 15, 2022, Smart signed a two-way contract with the

. The same day, he scored 40 points in a win against the

Rio Grande Valley Vipers The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Edinburg, Texas, and are affiliated with the Houston Rockets. The Vipers play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena. The Vipers have won f ...

. On July 16, Smart was waived by the Heat.

Birmingham Squadron (2022–2023)

On November 4, 2022, Smart was named to the opening night roster for the Birmingham Squadron.

Philadelphia 76ers / Deleware Blue Coats (2023–2024)

In July 2023, Smart joined the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

for the 2023 NBA Summer League and on August 13, he signed with them. On October 21, the 76ers converted Smart to a two-way contract, but waived him on December 23. Four days later, he joined the

Delaware Blue Coats The Delaware Blue Coats are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Wilmington, Delaware. They are the G-League affiliates of the Philadelphia 76ers. The Blue Coats play their home games at Chase Fieldhouse. The Bl ...

Crvena zvezda Meridianbet (2024)

On January 14, 2024, Smart signed with Serbian powerhouse Crvena zvezda Meridianbet.

Osceola Magic (2024–present)

On September 20, 2024, Smart signed with the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

, but was waived on October 12. On October 27, he joined the

National team career

Smart has represented the United States in

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

play on two occasions. In 2015, he was a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. team in the

2015 FIBA Americas Under-16 Championship The 2015 FIBA Americas Under-16 Championship was the men's international basketball competition that was held in Bahia Blanca, Argentina from 10–14 June 2015. First round ''All times are local ( UTC−3).'' Group A ---- ---- ---- G ...

and averaged 6.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. Smart then won a gold medal at the 2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship in Zaragoza, Spain. In the U17 tournament, Smart averaged 5.4 points, 3.4 assists and 3 rebounds per game.

Career statistics

NBA

, - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", , style="text-align:left;",

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 13 , , 1 , , 12.3 , , .256 , , .222 , , .833 , , 1.5 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , .2 , , 2.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, 4 , , 0 , , 10.0 , , .471 , , .444 , , , , 1.3 , , .5 , , .5 , , .3 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 1 , , 0 , , .7 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 18 , , 1 , , 11.8 , , .317 , , .296 , , .833 , , 1.3 , , .9 , , .3 , , .2 , , 2.8

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , style="text-align:left;", Crvena zvezda Meridianbet , 12 , , 3 , , 17.5 , , .365 , , .174 , , 1.000 , , 2.0 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , .2 , , 7.2 , , 4.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 12 , , 3 , , 17.5 , , .365 , , .174 , , 1.000 , , 2.0 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , .2 , , 7.2 , , 4.8

Domestic leagues

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%; text-align:right;" ! Year ! Team ! League ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", G League , , 25 , , 36.8 , , .419 , , .320 , , .754 , , 4.6 , , 3.6 , , 1.9 , , .3 , , 21.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2022–23 , , style="text-align:left;", B'ham Squadron , , style="text-align:center;", G League , , 32 , , 29.1 , , .427 , , .360 , , .939 , , 2.8 , , 3.1 , , .9 , , , , 13.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", G League , , 6 , , 34.2 , , .500 , , .333 , , .818 , , 2.5 , , 4.7 , , .7 , , .3 , , 18.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , , style="text-align:left;", Crvena zvezda Meridianbet , , style="text-align:center;", ABA , , 10 , , 20.5 , , .488 , , .347 , , .600 , , 2.5 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , , , 11.0

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

, 34 , , 18 , , 29.9 , , .368 , , .311 , , .839 , , 3.3 , , 2.4 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 11.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 30 , , 34.2 , , .415 , , .326 , , .814 , , 3.5 , , 4.2 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 12.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , style="text-align:left;",

, 28 , , 28 , , 35.6 , , .460 , , .402 , , .857 , , 3.7 , , 4.0 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 16.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 93 , , 76 , , 33.1 , , .414 , , .351 , , .836 , , 3.5 , , 3.4 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 13.0

Personal life

Smart is the son of Melinda Smart and Jerry Matthews. He has an older sister, Desiree, and a younger brother, Davyion. His cousin, Keith Smart has played and coached in the NBA.

References

External links

LSU Tigers bioUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smart, Javonte 1999 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Serbia American men's basketball players Basketball players from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Birmingham Squadron players Delaware Blue Coats players KK Crvena zvezda players LSU Tigers men's basketball players Miami Heat players Milwaukee Bucks players Osceola Magic players Philadelphia 76ers players Point guards Sioux Falls Skyforce players Undrafted NBA players United States men's national basketball team players