Jaleen Smith (born November 24, 1994) is an American-born Croatian 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

Alba Berlin Alba Berlin is a German professional basketball club that is based in Berlin, Germany. The club was founded in 1991, and is today the largest German national basketball club by membership figures. Alba Berlin hosts its home games at the Mercedes ...

of the German

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...

(BBL) and the EuroLeague.

Club career

In 2019, Smith switched teams from

USC Heidelberg USC Heidelberg, for sponsorship reasons named MLP Academics Heidelberg, is a professional basketball club from Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The club's men's senior team currently plays in the German first division Basketball Bundeslig ...

Riesen Ludwigsburg Riesen Ludwigsburg ( en, Giants Ludwigsburg), for sponsorship reasons MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, is a professional basketball club that is based in Ludwigsburg, Germany. The club currently plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the first tier of ...

. For the 2020–21 Basketball Bundesliga season, Smith was elected as

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

.Titel für die Riesen: Jaleen Smith ist MVP der Saison

Ludwigsburger Kreiszeitung The ''Ludwigsburger Kreiszeitung'' (LNC) is a German-language daily newspaper printed and distributed in the district of Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg (; Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart ci ...

, May 19, 2021. Accessed May 20, 2021. He received the award at the same time as his coach John Patrick became Coach of the year. Smith averaged 15.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game. On August 25, 2021, Smith signed a three-year deal with

National team career

In July 2022, the

Croatian Basketball Federation The Croatian Basketball Federation ( hr, Hrvatski košarkaški savez) is a non-profit organization and the national sports governing body of basketball in Croatia. It was founded on 19 December 1948 as a member of the larger Basketball Federati ...

expressed their interest to naturalize Smith, so he could represent the Croatia national team at the

EuroBasket 2022 The EuroBasket 2022 was the 41st edition of the EuroBasket championship organized by FIBA Europe. It was the first since it was agreed it would take place every four years, with a similar system of qualification as for the FIBA Basketball World C ...

. In August 2022, Smith debuted for Croatia in a friendly against

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. His first official game was a EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifier against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. Smith is the third naturalized American to play for Croatia, after

Dontaye Draper Dontaye Dominic Draper (born August 10, 1984) is an American-Croatian former professional basketball player who last played for Real Betis Energía Plus of the Liga ACB. Standing at , he played at the point guard position. High school Draped pla ...

and

Oliver Lafayette Oliver Lafayette (born May 6, 1984) is an American-born Croatian former professional basketball player. Standing at , he plays at the point guard and shooting guard positions. High school and college career Lafayette attended Capitol High School i ...

References

External links

Proballers profile

German BBL profileNew Hampshire Wildcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jaleen 1994 births Living people Alba Berlin players American expatriate basketball people in Germany American men's basketball players Basketball players from Texas Croatian expatriate basketball people in Germany Croatian men's basketball players Croatian people of African-American descent Naturalized citizens of Croatia New Hampshire Wildcats men's basketball players People from Freeport, Texas Riesen Ludwigsburg players Shooting guards USC Heidelberg players