Jason Smith (basketball, born 1986)
Jason Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 2, 1986 |
| Occupation | Professional basketball player (retired) |
| Years active | 2007–2019 |
| Known for | NBA career as a basketball athlete |
Jason Victor Smith (born March 2, 1986) is a retired American professional basketball athlete who spent twelve seasons competing in the National Basketball Association. He played collegiate basketball for the Colorado State Rams and was chosen 20th overall in the 2007 NBA draft by the Miami Heat.
High school career
Smith attended Platte Valley High School located in Kersey, Colorado, where he was recognized as the premier prep player in the state during his senior year (2003–04). He earned the title of state player of the year twice, started and lettered for three years, received all-conference and all-state accolades three times, and was honored as the most outstanding player in the state Class 3A tournament during his final year.
College career
During his tenure at Colorado State (2004–07), Smith was named Mountain West Freshman of the Year and received all-MWC honorable mention honors in 2004–05, posting averages of 10.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. As a sophomore, he started every one of the 31 games, securing first-team All-Mountain West recognition along with second-team NABC all-district honors while averaging 16.2 points and 7.3 rebounds.
In his junior season, Smith again earned first-team All-Mountain West honors, led the conference with an average of 10.1 rebounds per game (ranking ninth nationally), and was sixth in scoring with 16.8 points per game. On April 3, 2007, he declared for the NBA draft, foregoing his senior collegiate season. Smith concluded his college career ranked ninth on Colorado State’s all-time scoring chart with 1,281 points, sixth in rebounds (683), fifth in blocks (149), and second in career double-doubles (24).
Philadelphia 76ers (2007–2010)
Although selected 20th overall by the Miami Heat in the 2007 NBA draft, Smith was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers on draft night. In his rookie season, he averaged 4.5 points and 3.0 rebounds across 76 games. In August 2008, Smith suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, sidelining him for the entire 2008–09 season. He returned for the 2009–10 season, participating in 56 games and averaging 3.4 points and 2.4 rebounds.
New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans (2010–2014)
On September 23, 2010, Smith was traded alongside Willie Green to the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for Darius Songaila and Craig Brackins. He achieved a career-high of 20 points on February 1, 2011, during a victory over the Washington Wizards. That season, he appeared in 77 games, averaging 4.3 points and 3.1 rebounds.
Smith inked a new three-year contract with the Hornets on December 17, 2011, worth $7.5 million. Between February and March of 2012, he missed more than a month due to a concussion. On April 7, he surpassed his previous scoring record by posting 26 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves, concluding the lockout-shortened season with career-best averages of 9.9 points and 4.9 rebounds over 40 games (29 starts).
His playing time was hampered by injuries over subsequent seasons. In the 2012–13 campaign, Smith participated in only 51 games due to a right labrum injury that required surgery and prematurely ended his season. The franchise rebranded as the Pelicans in April 2013. During the following season (2013–14), Smith's time on court was again limited after a knee injury restricted him to just 31 games before he underwent season-ending surgery in January.
New York Knicks (2014–2015)
On July 18, 2014, Smith agreed to a one-year deal worth $3.3 million with the New York Knicks. He achieved a season-best 13 rebounds on February 7, 2015, facing the Golden State Warriors. Just four days afterward, Smith posted a season-high 25 points by making 10 of 16 shots during an 89–83 defeat against the Orlando Magic. For the first time in his professional career, he participated in all 82 regular-season games and started a personal record of 31 contests.
Orlando Magic (2015–2016)
Smith joined the Orlando Magic on July 14, 2015, signing a one-year contract valued at $4.5 million. On March 15, 2016, he achieved season highs with 25 points and 13 rebounds in a 116–110 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Washington Wizards (2016–2018)
On July 7, 2016, Smith inked a three-year contract with the Washington Wizards worth $16 million. Throughout the 2016–17 season, he reached a personal best of 17 points on three separate occasions. However, his participation dropped significantly during the 2017–18 season, appearing in only 33 games.
Milwaukee Bucks (2018–2019)
Smith was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks on December 7, 2018, as part of a five-player transaction involving three teams.
Return to New Orleans (2019)
On February 7, 2019, Smith was acquired by the New Orleans Pelicans through a three-team trade including the Bucks and Detroit Pistons. After playing in two games for the Pelicans, he was waived on March 20, 2019.
Regular season
|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 76 || 1 || 14.6 || .455 || .286 || .659 || 3.0 || .3 || .3 || .7 || 4.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 56 || 2 || 11.8 || .431 || .345 || .690 || 2.4 || .6 || .4 || .5 || 3.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| New Orleans | 77 || 6 || 14.3 || .443 || .000 || .843 || 3.1 || .5 || .3 || .4 || 4.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| New Orleans | 40 || 29 || 23.7 || .520 || .111 || .702 || 4.9 || .9 || .5 || 1.0 || 9.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| New Orleans | 51 || 0 || 17.2 || .490 || .000 || .843 || 3.6 || .7 || .3 || .9 || 8.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| New Orleans | 31 || 27 || 26.8 || .465 || – || .780 || 5.8 || .9 || .4|| .9||9.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| New York | 82|| 31||21.8||.434||.357||.830||4.0||1.7||.4||.5||8.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Orlando |76||2||15.5||.485||.250||.806||2.9||.8||.4||.9||7.2 |-
| style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:left;" | Washington |74||3||14.4||529||474||.686||3.5||.5||.3||.7||5.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:left;" | Washington |33||2||8.6||.391||.125||.905||1.6||.4||.1||.4||3.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:left;" | Washington |12||1||10.8||.405||.400||.833||3.1||1.0||.1||.4||3.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:left;" | Milwaukee |6||0||6.7||.308||.333|||1.000|||1.8|||0.2|||0.3|||0.3|||2.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:left;" | New Orleans |2|||0|||10|||0|||286|||1|||000|||2|||0|||0|||4
|- class="sortbottom"
|style="text-align:center;" colspan=2>Career |616|||104|||16.3|||468|||333|||783|||3,4|||0,7|||0,3|||0,7|||6,1
Playoffs
|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2008 | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 6 || 0 || 13.7 || .444 || .000 || 1.000 || 2.5 || .5 || .2 || .8 || 3.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2011 | style="text-align:left;"| New Orleans | 6 || 0 || 9.7 || .467 || – || – || 1.2 || .2 || .3 || .0 || 2.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2017 | style="text-align:left;"| Washington | 13 || 0 || 12.1 || .487 || .300 || .714 || 2.2 || .3 || .2 || .5 || 3.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2018 | style="text-align:left;"| Washington | 1 || 0 || 2.0 || – || – || – || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 26 || 0 || 11.5 || .472 || .273 || .778 || 2.0 || .3 || .2 || .5 || 3.3
College
|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2004–05 | style="text-align:left;"| Colorado State | 26 || 11 || 24.4 || .554 || .250 || .684 || 5.8 || 1.7 || .4 || 1.4 || 10.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2005–06 | style="text-align:left;"| Colorado State | 31|| 31|| 28.7|| .517|| .455|| .763|| 7.3|| 2.3|| .6|| 2.1||16.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2006–07 | style="text-align:left;"| Colorado State | 30|| 28|| 30.2|| .579|| .000|| .770|| 10.1|| 1.9|| .5|| 1.6|| 16.8 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 87||70||27.9|| .548|| .308|| .751||7.9||2.0|| .5||1.7||14.7