Chris Smith (Hebrew: 'כריס סמית; born October 13, 1987) is an American-Israeli professional basketball player for Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli National League. He played college basketball for Manhattan and Louisville.
| Free agent | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard / shooting guard |
| Personal information | |
| Born | October 13, 1987 Millstone Township, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Nationality | American / Israeli |
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2012: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2012–present |
| Career history | |
| 2013 | New York Knicks |
| 2013 | →Erie BayHawks |
| 2014 | Erie BayHawks |
| 2015 | KB Peja |
| 2016 | Saint John Mill Rats |
| 2016 | Hapoel Galil Elyon |
| 2017–2018 | Ironi Nahariya |
| 2018 | Maccabi Kiryat Motzkin |
| 2019–2020 | Hapoel Jerusalem |
| 2020 | Hapoel Acre/Mateh Asher |
| 2021–2023 | Maccabi Haifa |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
High school career
editSmith averaged 18.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.8 steals in his final prep season at St. Benedict's Prep. Chris was honored on the first team All-Freelance League team as a senior. Before playing at St. Benedict's, he played at Lakewood High School for three years, scoring over 1,300 career points. At Lakewood High School, he also played wide receiver and kicker for the football team.[1]
College career
editAs a freshman and sophomore, Chris Smith played for the Manhattan Jaspers. He wore the number 2. During his freshman year (2007–2008), Smith averaged 9.9 points per game, 1 assists per game, and shot 40.4 percent from the field. Smith also shot 28.1 percent from three. The Jaspers went 12–19, that year. During his sophomore year (2008–2009), Smith averaged 13.4 ppg, 1.2 apg, shot 36.2% from the field, and 28.8% from three-point range. The Jaspers finished off the season over .500 at a 16–14 record. Smith transferred to Louisville to complete his college career.
After transferring from Manhattan, Smith played for the Louisville Cardinals during his junior and senior year in college. Smith wore number 5. During his junior year (2010–2011), Smith averaged 9.4 ppg, 2.5 apg, shot 45.8% from the field, and 40.4% from three-point range. This was an improvement in 3-point shooting from his lower class years at Manhattan. The Cardinals finished the season with a 25–10 record.[2] As a senior, Smith averaged 9.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists.
Professional career
editAfter going undrafted in the 2012 NBA draft, Smith joined the New York Knicks' Summer League team. He signed with the Knicks on August 1, 2012,[3] but was waived on October 26. He did not appear in any preseason games after undergoing left patella tendon surgery.[4] Smith re-joined the Knicks for the 2013 NBA Summer League[5] and was later signed by the Knicks on September 11, 2013.[6] On November 18, he was assigned to the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League.[7] On December 17, he was recalled by New York.[8] After appearing in two games as a Knick, he was waived by the team on December 31.[9] After being waived by the Knicks, he was acquired by the BayHawks on January 7.[10] He was later released by the BayHawks on March 4.[11]
On February 4, 2015, Smith signed with KB Peja of the Kosovo Basketball Superleague.[12] The next month, he left Peja.[13]
In February 2016, Smith signed with the Saint John Mill Rats of the National Basketball League of Canada for the rest of the 2015–16 season.[14]
On October 6, 2016, Smith signed with Israeli club Hapoel Galil Elyon of the Liga Leumit.[15] However, he was waived on October 13, after appearing in only one game.[16][17]
On December 15, 2017, Smith signed a three-year deal with Israeli club Ironi Nahariya.[18] On January 18, 2018, Smith parted ways with Nahariya after appearing in two Israeli League games. One day later, he signed with Maccabi Kiryat Motzkin of the Israeli National League for the rest of the season.[19] On February 5, 2018, Smith parted ways with Kiryat Motzkin after appearing in one game.[20]
On December 23, 2019, Smith signed with Hapoel Jerusalem for the rest of the season.[21]
Personal life
editSmith is son of Ida and Earl Smith, and has three brothers and two sisters. He is the younger brother of former NBA player J. R. Smith.[22]
In 2017, Smith converted to Judaism and became an Israeli citizen.[23]
Career statistics
edit| 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 |
NBA
editSource[24]
Regular season
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | New York | 2 | 0 | 1.0 | – | – | – | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
References
edit- ^ "Chris Smith Profile". gocards.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2013. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
- ^ "Chris Smith – Louisville Cardinals – College Basketball – Rivals.com". Yahoo.com. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
- ^ "Knicks Sign Chris Smith". knicksnow.com. August 1, 2012. Archived from the original on August 4, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
- ^ "Knicks waive guard Chris Smith". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
- ^ New York Knicks Summer League Preview
- ^ Knicks sign Toure Murry and Chris Smith
- ^ "Knicks assign Chris Smith to D-League". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
- ^ "Knicks recall guard Chris Smith from D-League". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
- ^ Knicks Sign Jeremy Tyler, Waive Chris Smith Archived January 1, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 2013-2014 G League Transactions
- ^ BayHawks Release Chris Smith
- ^ "Chris Smith signs in Kosovo with KB Peja". Archived from the original on May 25, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
- ^ "Chris Smith to be released by KB Peja". Archived from the original on April 12, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
- ^ "Mill Rats Add Ex-NY Knick Chris Smith". Oursportscentral.com. February 27, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
- ^ Chris Smith, JR's brother, inks with Galil Elyon
- ^ "Chris Smith and Galil Elyon parted ways, he made $590 dollars". Sportando. Archived from the original on April 16, 2017.
- ^ Galil Elion cut Smith
- ^ "כריס סמית' חתם ל-3 שנים בעירוני נהריה". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). December 15, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
- ^ "נשאר בארץ: כריס סמית' חתם בקריית מוצקין". ONE.co.il (in Hebrew). January 19, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
- ^ "ברח: כריס סמית' נטש את קריית מוצקין במפתיע". ONE.co.il (in Hebrew). February 5, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
- ^ "חיזוק לסגל: כריס סמית' חתם בהפועל ירושלים". ONE.co.il (in Hebrew). December 23, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ J.R. Smith's brother (and ex-Knick) approves of trade: 'It's his time again'
- ^ "אחיו של ג'יי אר סמית' קיבל ת.ז ויבחן בנהריה". one.co.il (in Hebrew). November 29, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ "Chris Smith NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved August 23, 2023.