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

. 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;",

, 81 , , 28 , , 23.7 , , .487 , , – , , .240 , , 8.8 , , 1.1 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 3.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 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;",

, 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;",

, 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;",

, 6, , 0, , 8.3, , .667, , –, , .750, , 2.7, , 0.2, , 0.7, , 0.3, , 1.2

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

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

External links