Joshua Smith (born December 5, 1985) is an American former 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 who played 13 seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). Entering the NBA straight out of high school, Smith played nine seasons with the

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

, for the

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

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

and

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

between 2013 and 2016. His final stint in the NBA came in November 2017 with the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

. He is sometimes referred to by his nickname "J-Smoove".

High school career

Smith attended John McEachern High in Powder Springs,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. During the summer before his senior year, he played alongside future NBA players Randolph Morris and Dwight Howard on the Atlanta Celtics AAU team. 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. Smith was highly recruited as Rivals.com rated him the third best overall player in the nation and the number one small forward. Smith committed to play for

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

but he decided to forgo college and enter the NBA draft.

Professional career

Atlanta Hawks (2004–2013)

Smith was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 17th overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft. He won the

NBA Slam Dunk Contest The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. The contest was conceived of and started by the American Basketball Associat ...

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 Vincent Lamar Carter Jr. (born January 26, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who played for 22 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He primarily played the shooting guard and small forward positions, b ...

, Spud Webb, and

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

. 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. 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 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 ...

. 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-seeded

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. 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 the

2008 NBA Finals The 2008 NBA Finals was the NBA Finals, championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2007–08 NBA season, 2007–08 season and conclusion of 2008 NBA playoffs, the season's playoffs. A best-of-seven playoff series that was ...

. That offseason, on August 8, 2008, Smith signed an offer sheet with the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

, but the Hawks quickly matched the offer sheet. On February 2, 2010, in a 99–106 loss to the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

, Smith became the youngest player (at 24 years old) to record 1,000 career blocked shots. At season's end, he was named to the

NBA All-Defensive Second Team The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. The All-Defensive Team is generally composed of ten players in two ...

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 the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

. That postseason, on April 29, Smith led the Hawks to a Game 1 win over the

with 22 points and 18 rebounds. However, the Hawks lost the following three games, eventually losing the series 4–2.

Detroit Pistons (2013–2014)

On July 10, 2013, Smith signed with the

on a reported four-year, $54 million deal. On December 13, 2013, Smith scored 31 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in an 111–109 overtime loss to the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

. 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 The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

. 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 the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

. 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.

Houston Rockets (2014–2015)

On December 26, 2014, Smith signed with the

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

. 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

, Smith was moved back to the bench in order to help him get more comfortable with the team. During the

2015 NBA Playoffs The 2015 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2014–15 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors defeating the Eastern Conference champion Cleve ...

, Smith had multiple impressive games. In Game 2 of the first round against the

, 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

, 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.

Los Angeles Clippers (2015–2016)

On July 16, 2015, Smith signed a one-year deal with the

. 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.

Second stint with 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. 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. 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. He topped that mark on February 2, scoring 19 points as a starter in a 115–102 win over the Miami Heat.

Sichuan Blue Whales (2016–2017)

On November 8, 2016, Smith signed a three-month, $1.5+ million contract with the Sichuan Blue Whales of the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier men's professional basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

. In his second game for Sichuan on November 16, 2016, Smith recorded 41 points, 19 rebounds, five blocks in a loss to Guangdong Southern Tigers. In the game, he shot 7-of-18 from three-point range. 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.

New Orleans Pelicans (2017)

On September 28, 2017, Smith joined the Israeli team Maccabi Haifa for their preseason U.S. tour, with the aim being to play in the NBA again. On October 28, 2017, Smith signed with the

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. He appeared in three games for the Pelicans before being waived on November 10, 2017.

Big3

In March 2019, Smith signed to play in the

Big3 Big3 (stylized BIG3) is a 3x3 basketball, 3-on-3 basketball league founded by the hip-hop musician and actor Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz. The league consists of 12 teams whose rosters include both former National Basketb ...

3-on-3 basketball league.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

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, 80 , , 73 , , 32.0 , , .425 , , .309 , , .719 , , 6.6 , , 2.4 , , .8 , , 2.6 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 72 , , 72 , , 36.8 , , .439 , , .250 , , .693 , , 8.6 , , 3.3 , , 1.4 , , 2.9 , , 16.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 35.5 , , .457 , , .253 , , .710 , , 8.2 , , 3.4 , , 1.5 , , 2.8 , , 17.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 69 , , 69 , , 35.1 , , .492 , , .299 , , .588 , , 7.2 , , 2.4 , , 1.4 , , 1.6 , , 15.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 35.4 , , .505 , , .000 , , .618 , , 8.7 , , 4.2 , , 1.6 , , 2.1 , , 15.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 77 , , 77 , , 34.4 , , .477 , , .331 , , .725 , , 8.5 , , 3.3 , , 1.3 , , 1.6 , , 16.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 66* , , style="background:#cfecec;", 66* , , 35.3 , , .458 , , .257 , , .630 , , 9.6 , , 3.9 , , 1.4 , , 1.7 , , 18.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 76 , , 76 , , 35.3 , , .465 , , .303 , , .517 , , 8.4 , , 4.2 , , 1.2 , , 1.8 , , 17.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, 77 , , 76 , , 35.5 , , .419 , , .264 , , .532 , , 6.8 , , 3.3 , , 1.4 , , 1.4 , , 16.4 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 28* , , 28 , , 32.0 , , .391 , , .243 , , .468 , , 7.2 , , 4.7 , , 1.3 , , 1.7 , , 13.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

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New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

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Playoffs

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2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

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, 7 , , 7 , , 33.9 , , .398 , , .167 , , .841 , , 6.4 , , 2.9 , , 1.7 , , 2.9 , , 15.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

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, 11 , , 11 , , 37.3 , , .421 , , .133 , , .732 , , 7.5 , , 2.2 , , 1.1 , , 1.5 , , 17.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

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, 11 , , 11 , , 35.6 , , .481 , , .333 , , .659 , , 9.0 , , 2.6 , , 1.2 , , 1.7 , , 14.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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, 12 , , 12 , , 36.5 , , .404 , , .125 , , .597 , , 8.5 , , 2.9 , , 1.1 , , 2.1 , , 15.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

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, 5 , , 5 , , 39.2 , , .386 , , .000 , , .762 , , 13.6 , , 4.8 , , .6 , , 1.0 , , 16.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

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NBA records

Youngest player in NBA history to record: * 10 blocked shots in a game, Atlanta Hawks at Dallas Mavericks, () *500 career blocked shots, Atlanta Hawks vs. New York Knicks, () (206 games) *1,000 career blocked shots, Atlanta Hawks at Oklahoma City Thunder, () (423 games)

Personal life

Smith is one of five children born to Pete and Paulette Smith. His father was a professional basketball player during the 1970s and played in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

(ABA). His mother ran in the 2022 Republican primary for Georgia's 6th congressional district. He married Alexandria Lopez on July 31, 2010. The couple have three children (two sons and one daughter).

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Josh 1985 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in China American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks draft picks Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Big3 players Detroit Pistons players Houston Rockets players Los Angeles Clippers players McDonald's High School All-Americans NBA high school draftees New Orleans Pelicans players 21st-century American sportsmen Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia) alumni Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Power forwards Sichuan Blue Whales players Small forwards Sportspeople from College Park, Georgia 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen American men's 3x3 basketball players

High school career

Professional career

Atlanta Hawks (2004–2013)

Detroit Pistons (2013–2014)

Houston Rockets (2014–2015)

Los Angeles Clippers (2015–2016)

Second stint with Houston (2016)

Sichuan Blue Whales (2016–2017)

New Orleans Pelicans (2017)

Big3

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

NBA records

Personal life

See also

References

External links