William Henry "Smush" Parker (born June 1, 1981) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. He played 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 St ...

(NBA), 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 ...

and several leagues overseas. Parker played shooting guard in college but moved to point guard in the NBA.

Early years

Parker was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

to parents William "Bill" Henry Parker II and Robin Royal Parker. He attended Newtown High School in

Elmhurst, Queens Elmhurst (formerly Newtown) is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. It is bounded by Roosevelt Avenue on the north; the Long Island Expressway on the south; Junction Boulevard on the east; and the New York Connecting R ...

, where he was a star guard on their varsity basketball team. He then enrolled in the

College of Southern Idaho College of Southern Idaho (CSI) is a public community college in Twin Falls, Idaho. It also has off-campus programs in Jerome, Hailey, Burley and Gooding. Until the foundation of the College of Western Idaho in 2007, CSI was one of only two ...

as a freshman in the 1999–2000 season and transferred to play college basketball at Fordham University. Following his sophomore season at Fordham University, he entered the NBA in 2002 but went undrafted. During his sophomore season, he was Second Team All A-10 and Second Team NABC All-Region.

Professional career

Early career

While Parker was not drafted out of college, the Cleveland Cavaliers signed him for the 2002–03 season. In 2003, Parker signed with

Aris Thessaloniki Athlitikos Syllogos Aris Thessalonikis, means Athletic Club Aris Thessaloniki
...

of the Greek League ( FIBA Europe) and helped the team win the 2004 Greek Basketball Cup in the final against

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

. He returned to the NBA in 2004 and played for 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 L ...

and the Phoenix Suns.

Los Angeles Lakers (2005-2007)

He then signed a contract with the Los Angeles Lakers during the summer of 2005. Not well-known entering the 2005 season, Parker gained recognition as the starting point guard for the Lakers under coach

Phil Jackson Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. A power forward, Jackson played 12 seasons in the NBA, winning NBA championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 and ...

. While many experts thought that either newly-signed veteran

Aaron McKie Aaron Fitzgerald McKie (born October 2, 1972) is an American basketball coach and former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently the head coach for his alma mater Temple Un ...

or Sasha Vujačić would start at point guard, Parker became the surprise starter in the Lakers' season opener against the Denver Nuggets and went on to score at least 20 points in four of his first five games. This impressed Jackson, and Parker found himself in the starting line-up for the Lakers. From 2005 until 2007, Parker started 162 straight games, averaging 11.5 points. During the last two games of the regular season and the playoffs (2006–2007), Parker lost his starting spot to rookie

Jordan Farmar Jordan Robert Farmar (born November 30, 1986) is an Israeli-American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In high school, he was named the ''Los Angeles Times'' High School Player of the Y ...

. While with the Lakers, Parker clashed with coaches and players, including All-star Kobe Bryant. He admitted to intentionally ignoring Bryant and not passing him the ball. Bryant singled out Parker as a bad teammate, saying in 2012 that Parker "shouldn't have been in the NBA, but he Lakerswere too cheap to pay for a point guard." Parker would later detail how Kobe was a bad teammate, and after Bryant's tragic death in 2020 confirmed that the two men had never reconciled their differences.

Later NBA and overseas career

On July 26, 2007, Parker signed with 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 ...

. For the Heat, Parker wore jersey number 21. His production dropped off dramatically while with the Heat, with averages of 4.8 points, 1.7 assists and 2.1 rebounds, compared to his 11.1 in 164 games with the Los Angeles Lakers. After a physical altercation that Parker had with a parking attendant in November 2007, the

put him on paid leave to investigate the matter. On March 10, 2008, the

officially waived Parker. 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 ...

then signed him for the rest of the season on March 12, 2008. On July 10, 2008, the

officially renounced their rights to Parker. In the 2008 offseason, Parker was signed by the Denver Nuggets but was released on October 23, 2008, as the Nuggets trimmed their roster to the league-allowed 15. He then played with the

Rio Grande Valley Vipers The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Edinburg, Texas, and are affiliated with the Houston Rockets. The Vipers play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena. The Vipers have won fo ...

of the NBA Development League. On January 9, 2009, Parker officially signed with

Guangdong Southern Tigers Guangdong Hongyuan Southern Tigers () or Guangdong Southern Tigers, also known as Guangdong Dongguan Bank () for sponsorship reasons, are a Chinese professional basketball team owned by the Guangdong Winnerway (Hongyuan) Group. The team is one o ...

of the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

. In September 2010, he signed a one-year contract with the Russian club

Spartak Saint Petersburg BC Spartak Saint Petersburg is a Russian professional basketball team that is based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. During the 2016–17 season, the club was named BC Kondrashin Belov (BCKB), after its former player Alexander Belov and its former head ...

. In January 2011, he returned to Greece and signed a contract with

Iraklis Thessaloniki Gymnasticos Syllogos Iraklis ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής, en, Gymnastics Club Heracles), commonly referred to as Iraklis, is a Greek multi-sports club based in Thessaloniki. The club was founded in 1908 as "Mace ...

. In January 2012, Parker signed with Petrochimi Bandar Imam of the

Iranian Basketball Super League The Iranian Basketball Super League (IBSL) is a professional men's basketball league in Iran. It was founded in 1998. The current champions is Shahrdari Gorgan. The league follows the promotion and relegation system in which the worst two tea ...

. He later played in Venezuela, then signed with the Indios de San Francisco de Macorís of the Dominican Republic. In December 2012, Parker signed with

Cibona Zagreb Košarkaški klub Cibona, commonly referred to as Cibona Zagreb or simply Cibona, is a men's professional basketball club based in Zagreb, Croatia. The club is a founding member and shareholder of the Adriatic Basketball Association, and competes ...

of the Adriatic Basketball Association. After only 5 games in

Adriatic League The ABA League, renamed to the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the 1st-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Mac ...

, Parker was released. In March 2013, he returned to Greece and signed a contract with

Peristeri Peristeri (Greek: Περιστέρι, meaning "pigeon/dove" in Greek) is a suburban municipality in the western part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. With 139,981 inhabitants (2011 census), it is the seventh-largest municipality of Greece by ...

of the Greek League. In January 2014, he signed with his former team Guaros de Lara. He left the team that March. In June, Parker played in

The Basketball Tournament The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-application, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States. The 2022 edition features 64 teams with a $1 million winner-take-all prize, broadcast by ESPN. TBT was founded in 20 ...

. His team reached the semi-finals, and Parker's averages for the tournament were 16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game. In February 2015, Parker signed with Mon-Altius Madimos Falcons of the Mongolian National Basketball Association (MNBA). He averaged 24 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 4.1 steals per game. On November 30, 2017, Parker signed with the Albany Patroons of the

North American Premier Basketball The Basketball League (TBL), formerly North America Premier Basketball (NAPB), is a minor league basketball organization. The league began operating in North America in 2018 with eight teams, and expanded to over 44 teams as of 2022. The Bas ...

.Albany Patroons sign first three players
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NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

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Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, 11 , , 1 , , 10.0 , , .393 , , .222 , , .692 , , .8 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .0 , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, 5 , , 0 , , 6.8 , , .467 , , .250 , , .000 , , .6 , , .8 , , .4 , , .0 , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

L.A. 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 ...

, 82 , , 82 , , 33.8 , , .447 , , .366 , , .694 , , 3.3 , , 3.7 , , 1.7 , , .2 , , 11.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 80 , , 30.0 , , .436 , , .365 , , .646 , , 2.5 , , 2.8 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , 11.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, 9, , 0 , , 20.3 , , .315 , , .250 , , .750 , , 2.1 , , 1.7 , , .6 , , .3 , , 4.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , 19 , , 2 , , 21.5 , , .362 , , .222 , , .667 , , 1.7 , , 3.6 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 6.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 274 , , 183 , , 25.8 , , .426 , , .345 , , .708 , , 2.4 , , 2.9 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 9.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2006 , style="text-align:left;",

, 7 , , 7 , , 36.9 , , .333 , , .154 , , 1.000 , , 3.0 , , 1.6 , , 2.1 , , .1 , , 8.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007 , style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 0 , , 11.8 , , .154 , , .167 , , 1.000 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , .6 , , .2 , , 1.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 12 , , 7 , , 26.4 , , .306 , , .156 , , 1.000 , , 2.3 , , 1.2 , , 1.5 , , .2 , , 5.9

Personal life

Parker earned his nickname "Smush" at the age of 13. According to childhood friends, he often fouled out during pickup games by "smushing" opponents' faces as retribution for stealing the ball away from him. Parker has one daughter from a previous relationship.

References

External links

Smush Parker bio on NBA.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Smush 1981 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Croatia American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Iran American expatriate basketball people in Russia American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela American men's basketball players Basketball players from New York City Aris B.C. players BC Spartak Saint Petersburg players Cleveland Cavaliers players Detroit Pistons players Florida Flame players Fordham Rams men's basketball players Guangdong Southern Tigers players Idaho Stampede (CBA) players Iraklis Thessaloniki B.C. players KK Cibona players Los Angeles Clippers players Los Angeles Lakers players Miami Heat players Newtown High School alumni Peristeri B.C. players Phoenix Suns players Point guards Rio Grande Valley Vipers players Shooting guards Southern Idaho Golden Eagles men's basketball players Sportspeople from Brooklyn Sportspeople from Queens, New York Undrafted National Basketball Association players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people