Sekou Kimathi Sinclair Smith (May 15, 1972 – January 26, 2021) was an American

sportswriter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

who covered 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).

Early life and education

Smith was a native of

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

. He graduated from

Jackson State University Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a public historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is one of the largest HBCUs in the United States and the fourth largest university in Mississippi in terms of studen ...

in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in communications.

Career

He covered college football, basketball, and baseball for ''

The Clarion-Ledger ''The Clarion Ledger'' is an American daily newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi. It is the second-oldest company in the state of Mississippi, and is one of the few newspapers in the nation that continues to circulate statewide. It is an operating d ...

'' from 1994 until 2001, during his university studies and after. Smith was an NBA

beat writer Beat reporting, also known as specialized reporting, is a genre of journalism focused on a particular issue, sector, organization, or institution over time. Description Beat reporters build up a base of knowledge on and gain familiarity with th ...

for four years each at ''

The Indianapolis Star ''The Indianapolis Star'' (also known as ''IndyStar'') is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, when the ''Indianap ...

'' and ''

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

.'' He started working at

Turner Broadcasting Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (lat ...

as a senior analyst for NBA Digital in November 2009. He also worked as the creator and author of Sekou Smith’s Hang Time Blog on

NBA.com 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 ...

, a host of The Hang Time Podcast, and a Senior Analyst on

NBA TV NBA TV is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit. Dedicated to basketball, the network features exhibition, regular ...

’s ''The Beat''. Smith was one of the small number of journalists inside the NBA's bubble at the

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake, Florida, Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

, covering the 2020 playoffs and the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

. Smith mentored many colleagues as a member of the

National Association of Black Journalists The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is an organization of African-American journalists, students, and media professionals. Founded in 1975 in Washington, D.C., by 44 journalists, the NABJ's stated purpose is to provide quality p ...

Personal life and death

Smith was married to his wife, Heather, with whom he had three children. He died of complications from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

, on January 26, 2021, at the age of 48.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Sekou 1972 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American male writers African-American sports journalists American male journalists American sportswriters Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia (U.S. state) Jackson State University alumni Sportswriters from Michigan Place of death missing The Atlanta Journal-Constitution people The Clarion-Ledger people The Indianapolis Star people Writers from Grand Rapids, Michigan 21st-century African-American people