Josh Smith facts for kids
Smith with the Pistons in January 2014
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 5, 1985 College Park, Georgia, U.S. |
| High school | McEachern (Powder Springs, Georgia) Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Career information | |
| NBA Draft | 2004 / Round: 1 / Pick: 17th overall |
| Selected by the Atlanta Hawks | |
| Pro career | 2004–2017 |
| 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 | |
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| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 12,996 (14.5 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 6,653 (7.4 rpg) |
| Blocks | 1,713 (1.9 bpg) |
Joshua Smith (born December 5, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He played for 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Smith joined the NBA right after high school. He played for the Atlanta Hawks for nine seasons. Later, he also played for the Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, and Los Angeles Clippers. His last time in the NBA was with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2017. People sometimes called him "J-Smoove".
Contents
High School Basketball Career
Josh Smith went to John McEachern High in Powder Springs, Georgia. Before his final year, he played on an AAU team called the Atlanta Celtics. He played with future NBA stars Randolph Morris and Dwight Howard.
For his senior year, Smith moved to Oak Hill Academy. There, he was teammates with Rajon Rondo. He averaged 22 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 blocks, and 3 steals per game. He helped Oak Hill Academy have a perfect 38–0 season.
Experts like Rivals.com thought he was the third best player in the country. They also said he was the number one small forward. Smith first planned to play for Indiana University. But he decided to skip college and go straight into the NBA draft.
Professional Basketball Career
Atlanta Hawks (2004–2013)
The Atlanta Hawks picked Josh Smith as the 17th player in the 2004 NBA draft. In his first year, he won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest during the 2005 NBA All-Star Weekend. He was one of only five players to get three perfect scores in that contest.
For the 2004–05 season, Smith averaged 9.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.95 blocks per game. He was chosen for the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
On March 3, 2007, Smith reached 500 career blocks. This made him the youngest player in NBA history to do so. He finished the 2006–07 season averaging 16.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 steals, and 2.9 blocks per game. On November 17, 2007, he scored a career-high 38 points against the Milwaukee Bucks.
In the 2008 playoffs, Smith had 28 points and 7 blocks in a game against the top-seeded Boston Celtics. The Hawks, who were the 8th seed, pushed the Celtics to seven games. The Celtics later won the NBA championship that year. In August 2008, Smith signed a contract with the Memphis Grizzlies, but the Hawks quickly matched the offer to keep him.
On February 2, 2010, Smith became the youngest player to get 1,000 career blocked shots. He was only 24 years old. At the end of that season, he was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.
On March 31, 2012, Smith scored 34 points and got 9 rebounds against the Chicago Bulls. In the playoffs that year, he led the Hawks to a Game 1 win over the Boston Celtics with 22 points and 18 rebounds. However, the Hawks lost the series 4–2.
Detroit Pistons (2013–2014)
On July 10, 2013, Smith signed a four-year contract with the Detroit Pistons. On December 13, 2013, he scored 31 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in a close game against the Portland Trail Blazers. On February 22, 2014, Smith scored a season-high 32 points against the Dallas Mavericks.
He finished his first season in Detroit averaging 16.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game. On October 29, 2014, Smith scored 25 points in the Pistons' season opener. On December 22, 2014, the Pistons released Smith. In 28 games that season, he averaged 13.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 4.7 assists.
Houston Rockets (2014–2015)
On December 26, 2014, Smith signed with the Houston Rockets. He played his first game that night, scoring 21 points and getting 8 rebounds. He helped the Rockets win in overtime against the Memphis Grizzlies.
During the 2015 NBA Playoffs, Smith played very well. In Game 2 against the Dallas Mavericks, he had 9 assists, many of them to his childhood friend Dwight Howard. In Game 6 of the semi-finals against the Los Angeles Clippers, he scored 19 points, helping the Rockets come back from being 19 points down to win. He made a career-high 38% of his three-point shots during these playoffs.
Los Angeles Clippers (2015–2016)
On July 16, 2015, Smith signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Clippers. He played his first game for the Clippers on October 28. He had 1 point, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks in a win against the Sacramento Kings.
Second Time with Houston (2016)
On January 22, 2016, Smith was traded back to the Houston Rockets. He played his first game back that night, getting 2 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks. Two days later, he scored 16 points against the Dallas Mavericks. On February 2, he scored 19 points in a win over the Miami Heat.
Sichuan Blue Whales (2016–2017)
On November 8, 2016, Smith signed a three-month contract with the Sichuan Blue Whales in China. In his second game for the team, he scored 41 points, grabbed 19 rebounds, and had five blocks. He left the team in January 2017. In 26 games, he averaged 18.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.0 blocks per game.
New Orleans Pelicans (2017)
On September 28, 2017, Smith joined the Israeli team Maccabi Haifa for their U.S. tour. He hoped to play in the NBA again.
On October 28, 2017, Smith signed with the New Orleans Pelicans. He helped the team because many players were injured. He played in three games for the Pelicans before being released on November 10, 2017.
Big3 League
In March 2019, Smith signed to play in the Big3 league. This league features 3-on-3 basketball games.
NBA Career Statistics
These tables show Josh Smith's performance in the NBA. "Regular season" shows his stats for all games played during the normal season. "Playoffs" shows his stats for games played in the postseason tournament.
Regular Season Stats
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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 | |
Playoff Stats
| 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 | |
NBA Records and Achievements
Josh Smith holds some special records in the NBA for being the youngest player to reach certain milestones in blocked shots.
Youngest player in NBA history to record:
- 10 blocked shots in a single game: He did this with the Atlanta Hawks against the Dallas Mavericks on December 18, 2004. He was 19 years and 13 days old.
- 500 career blocked shots: He reached this mark with the Atlanta Hawks against the New York Knicks on March 3, 2007. He was 21 years and 87 days old, and it took him 206 games.
- 1,000 career blocked shots: He achieved this with the Atlanta Hawks against the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 2, 2010. He was 24 years and 59 days old, and it took him 423 games.
Personal Life
Josh Smith is one of five children. His parents are Pete and Paulette Smith. His father, Pete, was also a professional basketball player in the 1970s. His mother, Paulette, was involved in politics and ran for a government position in Georgia in 2022.
Josh Smith married Alexandria Lopez on July 31, 2010. They have three children together: two sons and one daughter.
See also
In Spanish: Josh Smith para niños
- List of National Basketball Association career blocks leaders
- List of National Basketball Association single-game blocks leaders
