Who is Josh Smith? Everything You Need to Know

Joshua “Josh” Smith was born on December 5, 1985, in College Park, Georgia, USA. His father is Pete Smith and his mother is Paulette Smith. He has four siblings.

He went to school at the ‘John McEachern High School’ in Powder Springs, Georgia. He played for the ‘Atlanta Celtics AAU’ team, prior to joining ‘Oak Hill Academy’ for his senior year.

Averaging 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 blocks per game he was instrumental in ‘Oak Hill Academy’ getting to a 38 – 0 record. He was almost set to join ‘Indiana University’ for college but quit to end up in the ‘2004 NBA Draft’.

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Career

Josh Smith was picked 17th overall in the ‘2004 NBA Draft’ by the ‘Atlanta Hawks’. In his rookie season (2004 – 2005), he justified his pick by averaging 9.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. By 2007, he became the youngest player in ‘NBA’ history to make more than 500 career blocks.

He was offered a contract on August 8, 2008, by the ‘Memphis Grizzlies’. He, however, chose to stay with the ‘Atlanta Hawks’ until 2013. On February 2, 2010, he recorded more than 1000 blocks, becoming the youngest player to do so.

In the ‘2011 – 2012’ season, Josh Smith delivered his career-best performance by averaging 18.8 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. He ended his stint with the ‘Atlanta Hawks’ after the ‘2012 – 2013’ season, averaging 15.4 points per game.

The ‘Detroit Pistons’ signed him to a record US $54 million deal for four years on July 10, 2013. He had an immensely successful first season (2013 – 2014) averaging 16.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game.

In spite of a successful first season, ‘Detroit Pistons’ inexplicably waived him off on December 22, 2014. He was still averaging 13.1 points, a career-best 4.7 assists, and 7.2 rebounds per game in the ‘2014 – 2015’ season.

‘Houston Rockets’ signed Josh Smith on December 26, 2014. He ended his stint with them after the ‘2014 – 2015’ season, averaging 12 points, 1.2 blocks, and 6.0 rebounds per game.

Smith played for the ‘Los Angeles Clippers’ from 2015 until 2016, after signing a one-year deal on July 16, 2015. He had a disappointing season, averaging 5.7 points, 1.1 blocks, and 3.9 rebounds per game.

For the ‘2015 – 2016’ ‘NBA’ season, Josh was traded back to the ‘Houston Rockets’. He played 23 games for them, averaging 6.6 points, 0.6 blocks, and 2.9 rebounds per game.

After ‘Houston Rockets’ let him go in 2016, Josh Smith signed a US $1.5 million contract, with the ‘Sichuan Blue Whales’. As part of the ‘Chinese Basketball Association’ team for three months, he registered an average of 18.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game.

Smith signed with the Israeli team, ‘Maccabi Haifa B.C.’ on September 28, 2017. Then on October 28, 2017, Josh joined the ‘New Orleans Pelicans’. He played only three games for them in the ‘2017 – 2018’ season and was waived off on November 10, 2017.

Josh started playing in the ‘Big3’ basketball league in March 2019. He is currently training to make a comeback to the NBA.

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Awards & Achievements

Josh Smith was part of the ‘McDonald’s All-American’ team and selected for the ‘Parade All-American’ first team in 2004.

In 2005, he made the ‘NBA All-Rookie Second Team’. In 2010, he was selected for the ‘NBA All-Defensive Second Team’.

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Family & Personal Life

Josh Smith married Alexandra Lopez on July 31, 2010. The couple has three children together, sons Joss and Jett, and daughter Genesis.

In June 2019, he filed for divorce, citing their marriage has irretrievably broken. However, weeks later, both parties canceled the proceedings and even celebrated their wedding anniversary in July.

Josh Smith Biography