Nicholas Smith Jr. (born April 18, 2004) 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

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

of 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). He attended

North Little Rock High School North Little Rock High School is a public school in North Little Rock, Arkansas, that is administered by the North Little Rock School District. As of the 2016–17 school year, the high school consists of one campus, which holds 9th - 12th gr ...

North Little Rock, Arkansas North Little Rock (often abbreviated "NLR") is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. Located on the north side of the Arkansas River, it is the Twin cities, twin city of Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock. In the late nineteenth ce ...

during his senior year of high school, where he was named the #1 overall recruit in the class of 2022.

High school career

Smith originally attended

Sylvan Hills High School Sylvan Hills High School is an accredited Comprehensive high school, comprehensive public education, public Secondary education in the United States, high school located in the city of Sherwood, Arkansas, United States, serving grades nine throu ...

Sherwood, Arkansas Sherwood is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 32,731, making it the List of municipalities in Arkansas, 13th most populous city in Arkansas. It is ...

before transferring to

prior to his senior year. He was the ''

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette The ''Arkansas Democrat-Gazette'' is the newspaper of record in the U.S. state of Arkansas, printed in Little Rock with a northwest edition published in Lowell. It is distributed for sale in all 75 of Arkansas's counties. By virtue of one ...

'' All-Arkansas Preps Boys Underclassman of the Year his sophomore year, and Player of the Year his junior and senior seasons. After leading North Little Rock High to a 26–3 record and the Arkansas Class 6A state championship, Smith was selected to play in the 2022 McDonald's All-American Boys Game and the

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school all star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys and girls in the senior class. In 2015, a girl's game was introduced. Th ...

Recruiting

Smith was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2022 class, according to major recruiting services. On September 29, 2021, he committed to being on the

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 ...

team for the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

, over other finalists

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, Auburn and Arkansas–Pine Bluff. Smith also received offers from

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, Georgetown,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, Baylor,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

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 ...

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and

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 ...

. Smith was a consensus top five recruit nationally and was named the #1 overall recruit in the 2022 class by

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 ...

College career

Smith was projected to be a starting guard for the

for the 2022–23 season, though a persistent knee injury kept him sidelined for the majority of the season. Smith appeared in seventeen games, averaging 12.5 points per contest.

Professional career

Charlotte Hornets / Greensboro Swarm (2023–present)

Smith was selected with the 27th pick of the

2023 NBA draft The 2023 NBA draft, the 77th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on June 22, 2023, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The draft consisted of 58 picks instead of the typical 60 for the second ...

by the

and on July 2, he signed with the team. Throughout his rookie and sophomore seasons, he has been assigned several times to the

Greensboro Swarm The Greensboro Swarm are an American basketball team of the NBA G League based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and are affiliated with the Charlotte Hornets. The Swarm play their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. The team became the ...

Career statistics

NBA

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 51 , , 0 , , 14.3 , , .391 , , .432 , , .867 , , 1.4 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , .1 , , 5.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 60 , , 27 , , 22.8 , , .391 , , .340 , , .935 , , 2.1 , , 2.4 , , .3 , , .1 , , 9.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 111 , , 27 , , 18.9 , , .391 , , .369 , , .918 , , 1.8 , , 1.8 , , .2 , , .1 , , 8.0

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2022–23 , style="text-align:left;",

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, , 17 , , 14 , , 25.8 , , .376 , , .338 , , .740 , , 1.6 , , 1.7 , , .8 , , .1 , , 12.5

References

External links

Arkansas Razorbacks bioUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Nick 2004 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American men's basketball players Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball players Basketball players from Arkansas Charlotte Hornets draft picks Charlotte Hornets players Greensboro Swarm players McDonald's High School All-Americans People from Jacksonville, Arkansas Sportspeople from Pulaski County, Arkansas Point guards Shooting guards Sylvan Hills High School alumni