Donta Lamont Smith (born November 27, 1983) is an American-Venezuelan professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for Cangrejeros de Santurce of the

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. The Baloncesto Superior Naci ...

. Playing for

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...

, he was named the 2014

Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP The Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP, or Israeli Basketball Super League MVP, is an annual basketball award that is presented to the most valuable player in a given season of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, which is the top-tier level ...

High school

Smith played his high school basketball at

Oldham County High School Oldham County High School (OCHS) is a public high school in Buckner, Kentucky, United States. It was founded in 1953 and has a student body of approximately 1,600 students in 9th through 12th grades. OCHS was given the National Blue Ribbon Schoo ...

, in

Buckner, Kentucky Buckner is a census-designated place (CDP) in Oldham County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 4,000 at the 2000 census. Oldham County High School is located in Buckner. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the CD ...

, where he was a standout forward on the high school team, and also a record-setting wide receiver on the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

team. He also played on the Kentucky (high school) All-Stars in their annual two-game series against the Indiana All-Stars.

College career

After two years of playing junior

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

Southeastern Illinois College Southeastern Illinois College is a public community college between Harrisburg and Equality in Saline County, Illinois. The college was founded in 1960 and offers associate degrees. A secondary campus, the David L. Stanley White County Center, i ...

, Smith was rated as one of the top

JUCO A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

prospects, and he committed to play

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

college basketball for

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (born September 18, 1952) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach for Iona College. He was also the head coach of Greece's senior national team. He has been the head coach of several teams in NCAA ...

at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one ...

, with the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East C ...

. However, Smith backed out of the commitment, and entered the

2004 NBA Draft The 2004 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2004, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and was broadcast live on ESPN at 7:00 pm ( EDT). In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur colle ...

instead.

Professional career

Smith was taken by the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

in the second round of the

2004 NBA draft The 2004 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2004, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and was broadcast live on ESPN at 7:00 pm ( EDT). In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur colle ...

, after playing

, and he averaged 3.3 points per game for the Hawks during his two-season stint. On December 2, 2005, the Hawks assigned Smith to their

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

affiliate, the

Arkansas RimRockers The Arkansas RimRockers were a minor league basketball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas, which played in the American Basketball Association and the NBA Development League. Season by season Franchise history The RimRockers began play ...

. In January 2007, Smith signed a one-month contract with Bulgarian champions Academic Sofia, which could possibly be extended to five months. On December 24, 2008, Smith signed with the

South Dragons The South Dragons were an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). They made their debut in the 2006/07 season and played their final season in 2008/09. The club was based at MSAC in Melbourne's in ...

of the Australian National Basketball League. He had previously been with the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

Shanxi Zhongyu The Shanxi Loongs, also known as Shanxi SDIC Raptors Club or Shanxi Fenjiu Shares are a Chinese professional basketball team based in Taiyuan, Shanxi, which plays in the Northern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). The Shanxi Fe ...

but was waived to make roster space available for

Bonzi Wells Gawen DeAngelo "Bonzi" Wells (born September 28, 1976) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the LeMoyne-Owen Magicians men's basketball team. He played college basketball at Ball State U ...

. In 2009, Smith went on to win the 2009 NBL championship with the

, and was named Finals MVP after starring for the team in the 5-game series. After one season with the

, Smith would return to the

for the 2009–10 season. In December 2010 he signed with the

Liaoning Dinosaurs The Liaoning Flying Leopards (), also known as the Liaoning Shenyang Sansheng Flying Leopard Club or Liaoning Bengang ( simplified Chinese: 辽宁本钢), are a Chinese professional basketball team based in Hunnan District, Shenyang, Liaoning, ...

. In 2011, Smith signed with

Fuerza Regia The Fuerza Regia de Monterrey (''Monterrey Royal Force'' in English) is a Mexican professional basketball team based in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico playing in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP). They currently play their home gam ...

in Mexico. He later played for the

Indios de Mayaguez Indio may refer to: Places * Indio, Bovey Tracey, an historic estate in Devon, England * Indio, California, a city in Riverside County, California, United States People with the name * Indio (musician), Canadian musician Gordon Peterson * Índi ...

of Puerto Rico, and

of Israel. Smith led Haifa to its first

Israeli Super League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

title ever during the 2012–13 season, his first with his team, along with teammate Gal Mekel. In the following season, 2013–14, Smith was awarded the Israeli Basketball League's Most Valuable Player Award, after leading Haifa to the finals for the second time in a row. Haifa, however, could not win the title again, after losing the finals to EuroLeague superpower

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

. In 2014, he was chosen the MVP of the Israeli All-Star game. In June 2014, after two successful seasons with Haifa, Smith signed a three-year contract with Israeli team

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's lead ...

. In his first season with the team, he was instrumental in its winning its first ever national championship. He left Hapoel Jerusalem in July 2016 after losing the opportunity for a second title to Maccabi Rishon LeZion BC. On November 23, 2017, Smith signed with

New Basket Brindisi New Basket Brindisi, for sponsorship reasons named Happy Casa Brindisi or shortly Brindisi, is a professional Italian basketball based in Brindisi, Apulia. It plays in the first division Lega Basket Serie A, LBA in the 2022–23 Lega Basket Serie ...

for the rest of the

2017–18 LBA season The 2017–18 Lega Basket Serie A, was the 96th season of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA), known for sponsorship reasons as the Serie A PosteMobile, which is highest-tier level professional basketball league in Italy. The regular season started on ...

. On June 4, 2018, Smith signed with

Santeros de Aguada Santeros de Aguada was a Puerto Rican professional basketball team of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. The team was based in Aguada, Puerto Rico. The team moved to Fajardo in 2021, changing their name and re-branding to Cariduros de Fajardo with ...

for the rest of the

2018 BSN Season The 2018 Baloncesto Superior Nacional season was the 89th season of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). Piratas de Quebradillas was the defending champion. League news On September 1, the league announced it will not control the Atléticos ...

. On July 9, 2018, Smith signed with the French team

Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez Elan Corporation plc was a major drugs firm based in Dublin, Ireland, which had major interests in the United States. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange as ELN, the Irish Stock Exchange as ELN.I, and the London Stock Exchange as ELN. ...

for the 2018–19 season. On August 31, 2019, he has signed 3-months deal with

Levallois Metropolitans Metropolitans 92 is a French professional basketball club that is based in Levallois-Perret, in the Paris metropolitan area. The club currently plays in the LNB Pro A, the highest-tier level in French basketball. The club was established in 2007 ...

of the

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...

. Smith averaged 8.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. On July 15, 2020, he signed with

of the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

. On March 8, 2021, he was released by the team. In 2020-21 he was third in the Israel Basketball Premier League in three-point field goal percentage (46.0 per cent), but third in turnovers per game (3.0). On September 23, Smith signed with Cangrejeros de Santurce of the

National team career

In August 2013, Smith was naturalized as a Venezuelan, in order for him to be able to play with the Venezuelan national basketball team. He played with Venezuela at the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship.

References

External links