Michael John Smith (born May 19, 1965) is a retired American

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 and television commentator. During his college years, he played for

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

, where he was a consensus second team All-American. As a professional player, he spent two seasons in the

NBA 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 St ...

with the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

and part of one season with the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

. He also spent several years playing in Liga ACB and

Lega Basket The Lega Basket A (officially: ''Lega Società di Pallacanestro Serie A'', English: Basket League) is the organizing body, as delegated by the Italian Basketball Federation, of the top division of Italian professional men's basketball league, the ...

. After retiring from professional basketball, he worked for several years as the television color analyst for the

College career

After attending Los Altos High School in Hacienda Heights, California, Smith was a standout basketball player at

. He excelled in both

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 c ...

and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

before concentrating on basketball exclusively. Smith served two years (1984–86) as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Argentina before returning to

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

to finish his collegiate basketball career. He won the WAC Player of the Year in 1988 leading the team with 679 points and 248 rebounds. He finished his collegiate career as BYU's all-time leader in rebounds (922) and second to

Danny Ainge Daniel Ray Ainge ( ; born March 17, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and former professional baseball player who serves as an executive for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A three-s ...

in career points (2319).

Professional career

Boston Celtics (1989–1991)

Smith was selected 13th overall in the first round of the 1989 NBA draft by the

. He was one of the oldest players in the draft at 24 years old. At the time the Celtics were a playoff contending team. They were championship contenders a few years prior to the 1989 offseason, however the team was declining due to the age growth and injury of star player

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded a ...

and the roster had been rapidly changing. The team still made the playoffs in both of the seasons that Smith played for them. In the 1990 playoffs the Celtics faced the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

. While the Celtics put up a tough fight, they eventually fell in the series-deciding game 5 and lost 3-2. On February 4, 1990, Smith had a career high 8 assists in a 121-89 win to the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

. On February 24, 1990, Smith dropped a career high 24 points in a 115-107 win over the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

. On March 2, 1990, Smith had a career high 10 rebounds in a 122-110 win over the

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

. In the following season the Celtics returned to the playoffs and played the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

. The Celtics won the series in 5 games and faced the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

in the second round who beat them 4-2. Smith never made the NBA Playoffs in his career ever again. On October 30, 1991, Smith was waived by the Celtics.

Brescia (1991–1992)

Smith moved to Italy following his departure from the Celtics. He played the following season with Brescia in Lega Basket.

Milwaukee Bucks (1992)

Smith returned to the USA and returned to the NBA briefly. On October 8, 1992, Smith signed with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

. Smith stayed with the team for 18 days, however before the season began he was waived on October 26.

CBA (1992–1993)

Smith played in the CBA for the upcoming season, first for the

Capital Region Pontiacs The Albany Patroons are a professional basketball team that plays in The Basketball League (TBL). Previously, the team competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and in the United States Basketball League (USBL). The Patroons won ...

and later, the

Oklahoma City Cavalry The Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry was a professional basketball team based in Lawton, Oklahoma. They played in the Premier Basketball League after having been in the Continental Basketball Association. They have one PBL championship and also were ...

Valencia (1993–1995)

The next season, 1993–94, Smith played for

Valencia Basket Valencia Basket Club S.A.D., commonly known as Valencia Basket (), is a professional basketball team based in Valencia, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague, with home games played at the Fuente de San Luis. The club is spon ...

. He continued in Spain, playing the first part of the following season for Estudiantes.

Los Angeles Clippers (1995)

Smith left Estudiantes and the following month on February 20, 1995, he found his way back to the NBA and signed with the

, a club he remained under contract with until September. The 30 year old played 29 games for the 1994–1995 season. The Clippers had an atrocious 17-65 season and missed the playoffs.

Gijón (1995–1996)

Smith joined ACB club

Gijón Baloncesto Gijón Baloncesto was a basketball team based in Gijón, Asturias, Spain. History Gijón Baloncesto was established in 1982, after taking over the franchise of another local team, Real Grupo de Cultura Covadonga, who was undergoing financial di ...

for the following season.

Retirement

Shortly after his tenure ended with the Spanish team, Smith retired from professional basketball. He would later on pursue a career in basketball analysis/commentating. Smith was the color analyst for the

Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

Prime Ticket Prime Ticket may refer to: * Bally Sports West, a regional sports network that was known as Prime Ticket from 1985 to 1995 * Bally Sports SoCal Bally Sports SoCal is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint v ...

Fox Sports West Bally Sports West is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios, and operated as part of Bally Sports, along with its sister network Bally Spor ...

with longtime Clipper play-by-play announcer Ralph Lawler until 2017. On September 28, 2018, the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

announced that Smith would be a studio broadcast analyst on select games.

References

External links

*
ACB.com profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Michael 1965 births Living people 20th-century Mormon missionaries All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players American Mormon missionaries in Argentina American television sports announcers Basket Brescia Leonessa players Basketball players from Los Angeles Basketball players from New York (state) Boston Celtics draft picks Boston Celtics players BYU Cougars men's basketball players Capital Region Pontiacs players CB Estudiantes players Gijón Baloncesto players Latter Day Saints from California Liga ACB players Los Angeles Clippers players McDonald's High School All-Americans Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Hacienda Heights, California People from the San Gabriel Valley Power forwards (basketball) Small forwards Sportspeople from Rochester, New York Valencia Basket players