Kenneth Jerome "Speedy" Smith Jr. (born January 28, 1993) 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

Türk Telekom Türk Telekomünikasyon A.Ş. () is a state-owned Turkish telecommunications company. Türk Telekom was separated from Turkish Post (PTT) in 1995. Türk Telekom Group provides integrated telecommunication services for PSTN, GSM, and wideband I ...

of the Turkish

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League (; TBSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replaced the former Turkish Bas ...

(BSL). He was named

Conference USA Men's Basketball Player of the Year A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always ...

in 2015.

Early life

Smith was born and raised in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

and attended Boca Ciega High School in Gulfport. He was given the nickname, Speedy, after his grandmother said, "That's Speedy" when he was born. Smith grew up as an athletics star and started out with

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

. Smith primarily played the

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

position, his father saying, "I actually thought football was his better sport. He was a leader all the way through. He knew how to prepare his players and get them in the right position on the field." However, Smith later chose to start playing basketball because he felt that it would lower his chance of getting injured. As a senior playing basketball for Boca Ciega, Smith averaged 18 points, 9.6 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.

College career

Smith played four years of college basketball for

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – Hig ...

. In 140 games, he averaged 6.2 points, 6.1 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game, earning C-USA Defensive Player of the Year honors as a junior and C-USA Player of the Year honors as a senior. As a senior in 2014–15, he tallied 7.4 assists (5th in the NCAA), 6.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.9 steals, as he finished his career with 118 career starts (tied for the third most in program history) and finished as the school's career leader in total assists (858) and steals (258).

Professional career

In June 2015, Smith had pre-draft workouts with 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 ...

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

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

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 ...

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, 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 ...

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), ...

and

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 ...

. However, he went through the workouts at less than 100 percent as he nursed an ankle injury suffered earlier that year. He had hopes of being a late second-round pick, but ultimately went undrafted in the

2015 NBA draft The 2015 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2015, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It was televised nationally in the U.S. by ESPN. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eli ...

VEF Rīga (2015)

On August 11, 2015, Smith signed a two-year deal with VEF Rīga of the

Latvian Basketball League Latvian may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Latvia **Latvians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to what is modern-day Latvia and the immediate geographical region **Latvian language, also referred to as Lettish **Latvian cuisine **Latvi ...

. However, on November 24, he was released by Rīga after appearing in three league games and eight

VTB United League The VTB United League () is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2009. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it is the first tier of Russian ...

games.

Los Angeles D-Fenders (2016–2017)

On January 6, 2016, Smith was acquired by the

Los Angeles D-Fenders The South Bay Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, that competes in the NBA G League. Founded in 2006 as the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the team is owned by the Los Angeles Lakers, who were the first ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

. He made his debut on January 9 in a 118–113 loss to the

Canton Charge The Cleveland Charge are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cleveland, and are affiliated with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Since 2024, the team plays its home games at Public Auditorium in downtown Cleveland, thoug ...

, recording three points, two rebounds and six assists in 13 minutes of action. On October 30, Smith was reacquired by the Los Angeles D-Fenders.

Grand Rapids Drive (2017–2019)

On October 13, 2017, Smith was traded to the

Grand Rapids Drive The Grand Rapids Gold are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Denver Nuggets. The Gold play their home games at Van Andel Arena. They began play as the Anahe ...

Szolnoki Olaj (2019)

On July 26, 2019, Smith signed with Szolnoki Olaj of the NB I/A.

Spirou Basket (2019–2020)

On December 19, 2019, he has signed with Spirou Basket of the Belgian

Pro Basketball League The Pro Basketball League (PBL), was the highest tier level professional basketball league in Belgium for sports clubs, clubs. In 2021, the league was succeeded by the Belgian-Dutch BNXT League. The league is organized by the Basketball League B ...

. The season was cancelled in March because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Maccabi Haifa (2020)

On May 28, 2020, Smith signed with

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa () is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football, Basketball, Weightl ...

of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

for the remainder of the 2019-2020 season.

Antwerp Giants (2020)

On April 8, 2020,

Antwerp Giants Antwerp Giants, named Windrose Giants Antwerp for sponsorship reasons, is a Belgian professional basketball club based in Antwerp. Their home arena is Lotto Arena. The club plays in the BNXT League, the highest tier of Belgian basketball. The c ...

announced Smith as its first signing for the 2020–21 season.

Limoges CSP (2020–2021)

On December 12, 2020,

Limoges CSP Limoges Cercle Saint-Pierre, commonly referred to as Limoges CSP or CSP, is a French professional basketball club based in the city of Limoges. History The club was founded in 1929, but its peak was during the 1980s and 1990s, when they became t ...

announced Smith as its new guard signing for the rest of the season in replacement of DeMarcus Nelson .

BC Rytas (2021–2022)

On September 19, 2021, Smith signed with

BC Rytas Basketball Club Rytas, commonly referred to as Rytas Vilnius, is a professional basketball club based in Vilnius, Lithuania. The club competes in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL), the top tier of Basketball in Lit ...

of the Lithuanian league. On June 7 Smith has won the LKL championship, winning series final 4–1.

Hapoel Jerusalem (2022–2024)

On July 10, 2022, Smith signed with Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli

. On November 5, 2024, Smith parted ways with the team. His request to be released from his contract was granted by the club.

Türk Telekom (2024–present)

On November 7, 2024, he sighed with

Türk Telekom B.K. Türk Telekom Basketbol Kulübü (English language, English: Turk Telekom Basketball Club) is a professional basketball team that is based in Ankara, Turkey. The team is currently playing in the Turkish Basketball Super League. It is a branch of t ...

of the

Personal life

On November 15, 2005, at 2:06 AM, Smith's non-biological brother, Dalvontae Coley, was allegedly shot by two masked men that entered his apartment complex, which was located in

, at 22 years of age. Coley's death affected Smith considerably, as he often "looked up to his older brother." He said, "I always think about what if he was here right now."

References

External links

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs bio

La. Tech's Smith eager to show he's more than passer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Speedy 1993 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Hungary American expatriate basketball people in Latvia American men's basketball players Basketball players from St. Petersburg, Florida BK VEF Rīga players Grand Rapids Drive players Hapoel Jerusalem B.C. players Los Angeles D-Fenders players Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball players Point guards Spirou Charleroi players Szolnoki Olaj KK players Türk Telekom B.K. players