Larry Smith (born January 18, 1958) is a former American 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. A 6'8" forward/center from
Alcorn State University
Alcorn State University (Alcorn State, ASU or Alcorn) is a public historically black land-grant university adjacent to Lorman, Mississippi. It was founded in 1871 and was the first black land grant college established in the United States.
O ...
, Smith spent 13 seasons (1980–1993) in the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA), playing for the
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...
,
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...
, and
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...
. Smith, nicknamed "Mr. Mean", received
NBA All-Rookie Team
The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for playe ...
Honors in 1981, and would become one of the best rebounders of the 1980s. He had career averages of 9.2 rebounds and 25.9 minutes per game.
Smith was affectionally nicknamed and known as "Mr. Mean" throughout his career, especially during his time with the Warriors, due to the stark contrast between him being nice and soft-spoken off the court but always with a serious demeanor and angry scowl on the court while grabbing a rebound. Smith's popularity in Golden State and Houston led to local fan clubs who would attend games wearing hard hats holding up a sign saying "Larry's Local 13".
At the end of his career, Smith earned praise from the Houston Rockets coaching staff and fanbase for adequately covering for an injured
Hakeem Olajuwon
Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon (; ; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian Americans, Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Ass ...
.
He worked as an assistant coach for
Rudy Tomjanovich
Rudolph Tomjanovich Jr. (born November 24, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is a consultant for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His professional playing career, whic ...
with the Rockets from 1993 until 2002, helping them capture their back-to-back NBA titles in
1993-94 and
1994-95. After ten years with the Rockets, Smith was hired as the assistant coach for 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 (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...
in 2003. In 2004, he was hired by the
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...
to be the assistant coach for Tomjanovich. However, Tomjanovich resigned after 41 games into the 2004–05 season. Smith remained as an assistant coach for interim head coach
Frank Hamblen
Frank Alan Hamblen II (April 16, 1947 – September 30, 2017) was an American basketball coach and scout. He played college basketball at Syracuse. He died in San Diego on September 30, 2017.
Early life
Born in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1947, Hambl ...
until the end of the season.
After serving as an assistant coach of the
Albuquerque Thunderbirds
Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
, as the head coach of the
Anaheim Arsenal
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...
, and as an assistant coach for the
Austin Toros
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
in the
NBA D-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 ...
, Smith was hired to be an assistant coach for the
Los Angeles Sparks
The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...
of the
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...
(WNBA) for the 2008 season.
Press release on joining the Los Angeles Sparks
/ref>
On May 8, 2008, officials made the announcement during a news conference in Vicksburg, Mississippi that Smith has been named as the head basketball coach for Alcorn State University
Alcorn State University (Alcorn State, ASU or Alcorn) is a public historically black land-grant university adjacent to Lorman, Mississippi. It was founded in 1871 and was the first black land grant college established in the United States.
O ...
. In 2011, Smith was moved from this position to become director of athletic development for the school.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;", Golden State
, 82 , , – , , 31.4 , , .512 , , – , , .588 , , 12.1 , , 1.1 , , 0.9 , , 0.8 , , 9.6
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;", Golden State
, 74 , , 55 , , 29.9 , , .534 , , .000 , , .553 , , 11.0 , , 1.1 , , 0.9 , , 0.7 , , 7.1
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;", Golden State
, 49 , , 41 , , 29.2 , , .588 , , – , , .535 , , 9.9 , , 0.9 , , 0.7 , , 0.4 , , 8.4
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;", Golden State
, 75 , , 63 , , 29.2 , , .560 , , – , , .560 , , 9.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 7.8
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;", Golden State
, 80 , , 78 , , 31.2 , , .530 , , – , , .605 , , 10.9 , , 1.2 , , 1.0 , , 0.7 , , 11.1
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;", Golden State
, 77 , , 74 , , 31.7 , , .536 , , .000 , , .493 , , 11.1 , , 1.2 , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 9.6
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;", Golden State
, 80 , , 78 , , 29.7 , , .546 , , .000 , , .574 , , 11.5 , , 1.2 , , 0.9 , , 0.7 , , 8.8
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;", Golden State
, 20 , , 10 , , 25.0 , , .472 , , .000 , , .407 , , 9.1 , , 1.3 , , 0.6 , , 0.6 , , 6.4
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;", Golden State
, 80 , , 78 , , 23.7 , , .552 , , – , , .310 , , 8.2 , , 1.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.7 , , 5.7
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;", Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, 74 , , 0 , , 17.6 , , .474 , , .000 , , .364 , , 6.1 , , 0.9 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 3.0
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;", Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, 81 , , 28 , , 23.7 , , .487 , , – , , .240 , , 8.8 , , 1.1 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 3.3
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;", Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, 45 , , 7 , , 17.8 , , .543 , , .000 , , .364 , , 5.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 2.3
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;", San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, s ...
, 66 , , 13 , , 12.6 , , .437 , , – , , .409 , , 4.1 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 1.3
, - class="sortbottom"
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career
, 883 , , 525 , , 25.9 , , .531 , , .000 , , .531 , , 9.2 , , 1.1 , , 0.8 , , 0.5 , , 6.7
Playoffs
, -
, style="text-align:left;", 1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
, style="text-align:left;", Golden State
, 10, , 10, , 32.9, , .531, , –, , .708, , style="background:#cfecec;", 13.7*, , 1.7, , 1.2, , 0.6, , 10.3
, -
, style="text-align:left;", 1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
, style="text-align:left;", Golden State
, 8, , 8, , 18.5, , .250, , –, , –, , 5.0, , 2.0, , 0.8, , 1.4, , 1.0
, -
, style="text-align:left;", 1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
, style="text-align:left;", Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, 4, , 0, , 18.3, , .750, , –, , –, , 3.3, , 1.3, , 1.0, , 0.0, , 3.0
, -
, style="text-align:left;", 1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
, style="text-align:left;", Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, 3, , 0, , 19.0, , .250, , .000, , .000, , 4.3, , 1.3, , 0.3, , 0.3, , 0.7
, -
, style="text-align:left;", 1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
, style="text-align:left;", San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, s ...
, 6, , 0, , 8.3, , .667, , –, , .750, , 2.7, , 0.2, , 0.7, , 0.3, , 1.2
See also
*
*
References
External links
Larry Smith Coach Profile
at NBA.com
at Basketball-Reference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Larry
1958 births
Living people
African-American basketball coaches
African-American basketball players
Alcorn State Braves basketball coaches
Alcorn State Braves basketball players
American men's basketball players
Atlanta Hawks assistant coaches
Basketball coaches from Mississippi
Basketball players from Mississippi
Centers (basketball)
College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
Golden State Warriors draft picks
Golden State Warriors players
Houston Rockets assistant coaches
Houston Rockets players
Los Angeles Lakers assistant coaches
People from Rolling Fork, Mississippi
Power forwards (basketball)
San Antonio Spurs players
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople