Philip Arnold Smith (April 22, 1952 – July 29, 2002) was an 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 who played for 9 seasons 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) for various teams, including 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 ...

San Diego 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 ...

and

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

. Smith played

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 ...

for the

San Francisco Dons The San Francisco Dons is the nickname of the athletic teams at the University of San Francisco (USF). The Dons compete in NCAA Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as members of the West Coast Conference (WCC), of w ...

Collegiate career

A 6'4" All-American guard from the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

(USF), Smith was not heavily recruited out of George Washington High School. After graduating from high school a semester early, Smith followed his older brother and enrolled in night classes at USF. Having been seen playing in a pickup game on campus, he was recruited by coach Bob Gaillard, who enlisted him on the freshman squad (the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

did not allow freshmen to play on varsity at this time) where he averaged 16.7 ppg. He went on to lead the team in scoring in each of his three varsity seasons, 15.0, 18.7, and 20.7 ppg, for a career average of 18.1 ppg and was an all-

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...

selection all three years. The Dons made appearances in the

1972 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 1972 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of NCAA University Division (now Division I) college basketball. It began on Saturday, March 11, ...

placing 4th in the Western Regional after losing to Weber State, and finished in the elite eight in the

1973 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 1973 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA University Division (now Division I, created later in 1973) college basketball. It b ...

and

1974 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 1974 NCAA Division I basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It was the first tournament to be designated as a Division I c ...

, where they lost both times to UCLA under

John Wooden John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed the Wizard of Westwood, he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as head ...

. As a result, he was drafted #1 in the 1973 ABA draft by the

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...

, but declined leaving college early. He was named to the All-American team his senior year. Scoring 1,523 career points, he excelled at USF becoming the ninth-leading scorer in school history. On February 17, 2001 his number 20 was retired at halftime during a home game against the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Schoo ...

. He is one of only five players to have their number retired by USF. He was named one of the Top-50 WCC athletes of all-time in 2001.

Professional career

After his senior year, Smith was selected by the

with the 11th pick in the 2nd round of the 1974 National Basketball Association (NBA) draft (29th overall), spending six seasons with them. As a rookie during the 1975 season, he averaged 7.7 points on 48 percent shooting in 74 games and was a member of the Golden State Warriors' first NBA championship team. The following year, he stepped into the starting lineup and averaged a career-best 20.0 points while playing in all 82 games. Smith was a two-time NBA All-Star (1976 and 1977), an All-NBA second-team selection in 1976 and a 1976 All-NBA defensive second-team selection. He played for 9 seasons (1974–1983) in the

(NBA), for the Warriors, the

, and the

. Smith finished his NBA career with 9,924 total points and a 15.1 ppg career average. A ruptured Achilles tendon prior to the start of the 1979–80 campaign caused the decline of his career. He won the NBA championship during his rookie season with the

Personal life

Was the third of nine children born to Ben and Thelma Smith of San Francisco. He is survived by his wife of 27 years, Angela, and their five children: Alicia, Philip, Amber, Martin and Peter, and 11 grandchildren. Martin played collegiately for the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

from 2002–2006; Peter played for his parents' alma mater, the

before transferring to

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

(class of 2012). September 27 is Phil Smith Day in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

as decreed by former Mayor Willie Brown. A scholarship endowment in Smith's name and the name of Arthur Zief, Jr. was established at the University of San Francisco by Art Zief.

Death

Philip Smith died at Palomar Medical Center in

Escondido, California Escondido is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. Located in the North County region, it was incorporated in 1888, and is one of the oldest cities in San Diego County. It has a population of 151,038 as of the 2020 census. Et ...

from complications with

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, an ...

cancer, after a five-year battle with the disease. He was 50.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 74 , , – , , 14.3 , , .476 , , – , , .804 , , 1.9 , , 1.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 82 , , – , , 34.1 , , .477 , , – , , .788 , , 4.6 , , 4.4 , , 1.3 , , 0.2 , , 20.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 82 , , – , , 35.1 , , .479 , , – , , .785 , , 4.0 , , 4.0 , , 1.2 , , 0.4 , , 19.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 82 , , – , , 35.9 , , .472 , , – , , .812 , , 3.7 , , 4.8 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 19.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 59 , , – , , 38.8 , , .501 , , – , , .761 , , 3.6 , , 4.4 , , 1.7 , , 0.4 , , 19.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 51 , , – , , 30.4 , , .474 , , .318 , , .789 , , 2.9 , , 3.7 , , 1.2 , , 0.3 , , 15.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, 76 , , – , , 31.3 , , .491 , , .222 , , .757 , , 2.1 , , 4.9 , , 1.1 , , 0.2 , , 16.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 48 , , 39 , , 30.1 , , .440 , , .208 , , .732 , , 2.4 , , 4.9 , , 0.9 , , 0.4 , , 13.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, 26 , , 2 , , 22.9 , , .468 , , .000 , , .727 , , 2.7 , , 2.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 8.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 79 , , 17 , , 15.7 , , .438 , , .375 , , .759 , , 1.6 , , 2.7 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 5.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 659 , , 58 , , 29.1 , , .476 , , .253 , , .779 , , 3.0 , , 3.9 , , 1.1 , , 0.3 , , 15.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 2 , , 0 , , 20.0 , , .450 , , – , , .333 , , 3.5 , , 4.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 10.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

† , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 16, , –, , 14.7, , .375, , –, , .625, , 1.8, , 1.9, , 0.6, , 0.4, , 6.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

, style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 13, , –, , 37.9, , .518, , –, , .734, , 4.7, , 4.6, , 1.6, , 0.5, , 24.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

, style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 10, , –, , 37.1, , .402, , –, , .800, , 5.0, , 4.5, , 1.4, , 0.4, , 14.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 8, , –, , 11.5, , .400, , .000, , .333, , 1.0, , 0.9, , 0.6, , 0.1, , 3.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 2, , –, , 9.5, , .500, , –, , –, , 1.5, , 0.5, , 0.0, , 0.0, , 3.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 49 , , – , , 24.7 , , .453 , , .000 , , .719 , , 3.1 , , 2.9 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 12.0

References

College Career Statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Phil 1952 births 2002 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from San Francisco Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from multiple myeloma Golden State Warriors draft picks Golden State Warriors players National Basketball Association All-Stars San Diego Clippers players San Francisco Dons men's basketball players Seattle SuperSonics players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Escondido, California