Mike Smith (basketball, born 1997)

ESSM Le Portel

Industry	Professional basketball
Headquarters	Le Portel , France
Products	Basketball team

Michael Soloman Smith (born October 13, 1997) is a professional basketball athlete from the United States currently playing for ESSM Le Portel in the LNB Pro A. During his collegiate career, he represented both the Columbia Lions and the Michigan Wolverines. Smith earned distinction as the top scorer in the 2019–20 Ivy League and holds the record for most assists in a single game during the Big Ten men's basketball tournament with 15. He also led the Ivy League in assists per game in 2017–18 and topped the Big Ten in assists during the 2020–21 season.

Early life

In 2012, Smith guided Burr Ridge Middle School from Burr Ridge, Illinois to an Illinois Elementary School Association state title. He was a four-year starter on varsity at Fenwick High School located in Oak Park, Illinois. As a senior in 2016, he recorded a personal best of 38 points in a victory over Simeon Career Academy, followed by a 34-point performance against Riverside Brookfield High School. Smith played a pivotal role in Fenwick’s capture of the Chicago Catholic League (CCL) championship, contributing 27 points in the championship game against St. Joseph High School.

During his final high school season, Smith averaged 19.3 points, 4.0 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per contest, leading Fenwick to a school-record 28 wins and an appearance in the Class 3A sectional final. He was runner-up in Illinois Mr. Basketball voting and concluded his high school tenure with 1,800 career points—second only to Corey Maggette in Fenwick history. His achievements earned him Pioneer Press All-Area player of the year and CCL player of the year accolades.

On March 26, 2016, Smith committed to play college basketball at Columbia, choosing them over Dartmouth. Despite interest from several mid-major schools and lacking major recruiting rankings, he reconsidered his options after Columbia underwent a coaching change but ultimately reaffirmed his decision following discussions with new head coach Jim Engles.

Columbia

Smith made his collegiate debut on November 11, 2016, scoring 14 points to help Columbia secure a 73–66 victory against Stony Brook. On January 21, 2017, he posted a freshman season-high of 24 points despite a narrow 67–62 loss to Cornell. Over his freshman year, Smith started all 27 games and averaged 13.6 points along with 3.4 assists per game, setting a new program record for first-year scoring with a total of 368 points.

In his sophomore campaign on December 10, he achieved a season-high of 28 points during a close 73–68 defeat to Navy. He finished that year leading his team with an average of 17.6 points per game—ranking second within the Ivy League—and led the conference in assists with an average of 4.6 per game. His performance earned him second-team All-Ivy League and third-team All-Metropolitan honors.

During his junior year on November 16, 2018, Smith reached then-career-high scoring with 31 points despite an 94–83 loss to Youngstown State. He equaled this point total on December 2 while adding five steals in an intense double-overtime loss (87–86) to Delaware. Unfortunately, on December 12, he suffered a torn meniscus against Bryant, which sidelined him for the remainder of that season. Across eight games that year, Smith averaged 15.8 points and five assists per contest.

Returning for his senior season opener on November 5, 2019, Smith contributed 22 points in a close defeat to Lafayette. On February 15, 2020, he set a new personal best by scoring 38 points during a double-overtime loss to Harvard, marking the highest single-game scoring output by a Columbia player since 1991. One week later, he added another impressive performance with 37 points in an 83–65 loss against Yale. Throughout his senior year, Smith led the conference by averaging 22.8 points, alongside averages of 4.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game. He received second team All-Ivy League honors while accumulating a total of 684 points—the second-largest single-season point tally in program history—and recorded the highest Ivy League scoring average since the late '80s.

Michigan

On April 10, 2020, Smith revealed his decision to graduate and transfer to Michigan for his final collegiate season, attracted by the leadership of head coach Juwan Howard. ESPN ranked him as the 11th top graduate transfer, and he opted for Michigan instead of other offers from Gonzaga, Arizona, and Seton Hall. In his first game with Michigan on November 25, Smith contributed 16 points and eight assists during a 96–82 victory over Bowling Green. On March 7, 2021, he tallied 11 points and seven assists in a 64–70 defeat against Michigan State, surpassing the milestone of 500 career assists. Leading Michigan with 18 points on March 12, Smith helped secure a 79–66 win in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals over Maryland, while setting a new Big Ten Tournament record by dishing out 15 assists. He finished the season averaging 9 points and 5.3 assists per contest, guiding the team to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight and ranking first in assists within the Big Ten. On April 7, 2021, Smith announced his entry into the 2021 NBA draft, choosing to forgo an additional year of eligibility granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sioux Falls Skyforce (2021–2022)

Following the 2021 NBA draft where he was not selected, Smith participated with the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2021 NBA Summer League. Subsequently, he was picked 13th in the second round of the 2021 NBA G League draft by the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Throughout the 2021–22 NBA G League season, Smith appeared in 42 games, averaging 9.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per outing.

Wellington Saints (2022)

Smith signed with the Wellington Saints on May 3, 2022, to compete in the 2022 New Zealand NBL season.

Astoria Bydgoszcz (2022–2023)

On August 4, 2022, he inked a deal with Astoria Bydgoszcz, competing in Poland's top-tier league, the Polish Basketball League (PLK).

Rostock Seawolves (2023)

Smith joined the German club Rostock Seawolves of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) on July 11, 2023.

Karşıyaka Basket (2025)

On March 22, 2025, he committed to play for Karşıyaka Basket in Turkey's premier league, the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL).

ESSM Le Portel (2025–present)

Smith signed with ESSM Le Portel, a team in France's top professional league, the LNB Pro A, on July 11, 2025.

College

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2016–17 | style="text-align:left;"| Columbia | 27 || 27 || 31.4 || .401 || .382 || .821 || 2.1 || 3.5 || 1.1 || .0 || 13.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2017–18 | style="text-align:left;"| Columbia | 27 || 26 || 34.0 || .390 || .308 || .842 || 2.6 || 4.6 || 1.1 || .0 || 17.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2018–19 | style="text-align:left;"| Columbia | 8 || 7 || 31.8 || .415 || .250 || .853 || 2.5 || 5.0 || 2.3 || .0 || 15.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2019–20 | style="text-align:left;"| Columbia | 30 || 30 || 37.7 || .431 || .339 || .813 || 4.1 || 4.5 || 1.5 || .0 || 22.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21 | style="text-align:left;"| Michigan | 28 || 28 || 31.6 || .412 || .418 || .793 || 2.8 || 5.3 || .5 || .0 || 9.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 120 || 118 || 33.7 || .411 || .343 || .824 || 2.9 || 4.5 || 1.1 || .0 || 15.9

Personal life

Smith's passion for basketball began early, inspired by the Chicago Bulls. In 2016, he encountered NBA star Jimmy Butler at a Jordan Brand event, which led to a significant mentorship. During offseasons, Smith has both lived and trained alongside Butler, gaining valuable experience from his mentorship. Additionally, Smith maintains a connection with basketball content creator KOT4Q, further broadening his involvement in the sport's online community.

External links

• Michael Smith profile at the Turkish Basketball Federation
• Biography at Michigan Wolverines
• Columbia Lions player profile