Steven Delano Smith (born March 31, 1969) 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who is a

basketball analyst A sports analyst is a person looking through technical, tactical, physiological, and psychological performance metrics /sup> working with the sports coach and sports science team to improve athlete performance. They will often use Video motion a ...

for Turner Sports. After a collegiate career with

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

, he played with several teams in his 14-season

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...

career, including 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 ...

, the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

and the

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 Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

, but is perhaps best known for his five-year stint with 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 Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

which included an

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

appearance in 1998. He won a

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

with the Spurs in 2003. Smith was widely regarded as an excellent three-point shooter, and is one of three players to make seven 3-pointers in a quarter. He joined the

USA men's national basketball team The USA Basketball Men's National Team, commonly known as the United States men's national basketball team, is the basketball team representing the United States. They are the most successful team in international competition, winning medals in ...

in the

1994 FIBA World Championship The 1994 FIBA World Championship was the 12th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. The tournament was hosted by Canada from August 4 to 14, 1994. The tournament was held at SkyDome and Maple ...

winning the gold medal. He won another gold medal at the

1999 Tournament of the Americas The 1999 Tournament of the Americas, later known as the FIBA Americas Championship and the FIBA AmeriCup (also known as Las Americas Tournament for Men, the FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament, or Panamerican Olympic Qualifying Tournament ...

and an

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...

with the USA men's national basketball team at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

with eleven other NBA All-Stars.

College career

Smith finished his four-year career as the all-time leading scorer in Michigan State history, with 2,263 points. He ranks fourth on the school's all-time assists list (with 453) and fifth in rebounds (with 704). For his college career Smith averaged 18.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per contest in 122 games. He was named to the NABC All-American First Team as a senior. Smith led the Spartans to a Big Ten Championship and Sweet Sixteen appearance in 1990 and hit a game-winning, last-second three-pointer to beat Wisconsin–Green Bay in the first round of the 1991 NCAA Tournament. He was inducted into Michigan State's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001.

NBA career

Miami Heat

Smith was selected fifth overall in the 1991 NBA draft by the Miami Heat, a young expansion team which featured other young players such as Glen Rice,

Rony Seikaly Rony is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Ronielson da Silva Barbosa, Brazilian footballer better known as Rony * Rony Ahonen (born 1987), Finnish ice hockey defenceman *Rony Bakale (born 1987), Olympic swimmer from the Repub ...

and Brian Shaw. Smith played in 61 games in his rookie season, starting in 59 with averages of 12 points a game and 4.6 assists. The young team made the playoffs to face the top seeded defending champion

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

, who swept the Heat in 3 games in the first round. Smith averaged 16 points a game for the series. Injuries limited Smith to 48 games in the 1992–93 season, but he increased his scoring average to 16 points a game. Miami did not make the playoffs that year. The 1993–94 season would prove to be Smith's best in Miami, as he averaged 17.3 points a game with 5.1 assists as the Heat won 42 games and entered the first round of the playoffs against the

. The series went to 5 games, as Miami won its first playoff games in franchise history. Smith led the team in scoring during the series with 19.2 points and shot 40 percent from beyond the three-point line. Smith would play just two games to start the 1994–95 season before being traded along with

Grant Long Grant Andrew Long (born March 12, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player. He played over 1,000 games for the National Basketball Association over a 15-year career. Long had two relatives who were playing in the NBA during h ...

to Atlanta for Kevin Willis, a deal that was universally regarded as a one-sided heist by Atlanta, and that eventually led the Heat to hire

Pat Riley Patrick James Riley (born March 20, 1945) is an American professional basketball executive, former coach, and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been the team president of the Miami Heat since 1995, and he also se ...

as their coach and VP of Basketball Operations.

Atlanta Hawks

Smith started in 59 of 78 games for Atlanta and averaged 16 points during the regular season and 19 points in the playoffs, as the Hawks lost in a first round sweep to 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 estab ...

. He would go on to average a then career-high 18.1 points a game in 80 starts in the 1995–96 season, forming a formidable backcourt one-two punch with Mookie Blaylock. The team under head coach Lenny Wilkens would win 46 games and defeat the

in the first round in 5 games. The next round, while facing the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

, Smith led all scorers in a Game 4 win with 35 points, before Atlanta lost the series 4 games to 1. Smith averaged 21.7 points in 10 playoff games that postseason. The following season would feature another career high scoring average (20.1) for Smith, as he continued to serve as the Hawks' main option on offense. On March 14, 1997, Smith made a career high 9 three-pointers en route to a 36 point total, during a loss to the

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 ...

. On April 9, Smith recorded a career high 5 steals in a win over the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

. Atlanta also featured players such as solid power-forward

Christian Laettner Christian Donald Laettner (, ; born August 17, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. His college career for the Duke Blue Devils is widely regarded as one of the best in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) hi ...

and defensive star

Dikembe Mutombo Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (born June 25, 1966) is a Congolese-American former professional basketball player. Mutombo played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Outside basketball, he has becom ...

, and would go on to win 56 games before meeting and defeating 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 ...

in a 5-game first round series. Smith played well against Detroit and held his own against

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

and the defending champion

, who defeated the Hawks in 5 games in the semifinals. The following season would be similar to Smith as he once again averaged 20.1 points a game, but this time managed to be named an NBA All-Star as he scored 14 points in 16 minutes of action in the 1998 NBA All-Star Game. The Hawks would disappoint in the playoffs yet again however, this time losing to the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

3 games to 1 in the conference semifinals despite a 24.8 ppg scoring average by Smith for the series. The 1998–99 season would be limited to 50 games as a result of a league wide lockout, and in 36 games Smith averaged 18.7 points a game and led the Hawks to another 5 game first round victory over Detroit. The Hawks had no answer, however, for 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 ...

, and again the Hawks were eliminated in the semifinals. Smith averaged 17.3 points a game in the 1999 playoffs. In the offseason, the Hawks traded Smith in a 4 player trade to the

alongside

Ed Gray Edward Gray (born September 27, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Atlanta Hawks in the first round (22nd overall pick) of the 1997 NBA Draft. Gray began his college career at the University of Te ...

in exchange for Jim Jackson and

Isaiah Rider Isaiah Rider Jr., nicknamed J.R. (born March 12, 1971), is an American former professional basketball player who played 9 seasons in the NBA. Rider was born in Oakland, California, and was raised in nearby Alameda. He starred in both baseball an ...

Portland Trail Blazers

Portland was a loaded team that had reached the Western Conference Finals in the 1999 playoffs and featured star forward

Rasheed Wallace Rasheed Abdul Wallace (born September 17, 1974) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. A native of Philadelphia, Wallace played college basketball at the University of North Carolina before declaring for the draft in 199 ...

as well as the newly acquired Scottie Pippen. Smith would no longer be required to carry the offensive load, and averaged 14.9 points a game in 81 starts as the Trail Blazers secured the second best record in the Western Conference. Smith would increase his scoring average to 17.1 in the playoffs, as Portland would defeat the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

in the first round before beating 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), ...

in the semifinals. Up next would be the league best

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 ...

, who took a 3–1 series lead over Portland before the Trail Blazers won game 5 on the road and game 6 at home as Smith scored 26 points to set up a game 7 matchup. Despite leading by double digits heading into the fourth quarter, the Lakers came back to win the game and advance to the NBA Finals where they would win the NBA Title. That summer, Smith represented the United States at the

for the

United States men's national basketball team The USA Basketball Men's National Team, commonly known as the United States men's national basketball team, is the basketball team representing the United States. They are the most successful team in international competition, winning medals in ...

, which won the gold medal. He averaged just over 6 points a game in the Olympics including a 12-point performance against China in the group stage of the tournament. The Trail Blazers entered the 2000–01 season with high expectations, but struggled to repeat the success of the previous season, as injuries took their toll and new additions and trades hurt team chemistry. Smith only started in 36 of 81 games, but still managed to 13.6 points a game. Portland would suffer another loss to the Lakers in the playoffs, this time in a three-game sweep in the first round. Following the season he would be traded to the

for Derek Anderson and

Steve Kerr Stephen Douglas Kerr (born September 27, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a nine-time NBA champion, havi ...

San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs featured superstars

Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Big Fundamental", he is widely regarded as the greatest power forward of all time and one of the greatest players in NBA histor ...

and

David Robinson David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003, and minority owner of the Spurs. Nicknamed ...

, and were attempting to win another championship as they had in 1999. Smith would be utilized as the team's starting shooting guard, averaging 11.6 points a game in 76 starts while leading in the league in three-point shooting at 47 percent for the season. Smith would average double figure scoring in the Spurs' first round win over the

, including 17 points in a game 1 victory, but struggled against the defending champion L.A. Lakers, who defeated the Spurs in 5 games. The following 2002–03 season would mark Smith's final year in San Antonio, while second-year

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run the team's offense by ...

Tony Parker William Anthony Parker Jr. (born 17 May 1982) is a French-American former professional basketball player and majority owner of ASVEL Basket in LNB Pro A. Himself the son of a basketball pro, Parker started his career at Paris Basket Racing in ...

blossomed into the team's second leading scorer. The same was the case for guard

Stephen Jackson Stephen Jesse Jackson (born April 5, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the New Jersey Nets, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, Mi ...

who consequently came to serve as the team's main starting shooting guard, with Smith starting in just 18 games for the season as a result of injuries limiting him to just 58 total games. As a result, Smith averaged 6.8 points a game, and would be used sparingly in the Spurs' playoff run, in which the team eliminated the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

, the three-time champion Lakers and the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. Th ...

before defeating the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

in six games to win the NBA title, Smith's first and only championship. Just before the 2003–2004 season started, the free agent Smith signed with the

New Orleans Hornets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

New Orleans Hornets

Smith played in 71 games for the Hornets, who were led by

Baron Davis Baron Walter Louis Davis (born April 13, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who is a studio analyst for the '' NBA on TNT''. He was a two-time NBA All-Star, made the All-NBA Third Team in 2004, and twice led the NBA in ...

and

Jamaal Magloire Jamaal Dane Magloire (born May 21, 1978) is a Canadian former professional basketball player who currently serves as basketball development consultant and community ambassador for the Toronto Raptors. He played 12 seasons in the National Basketbal ...

. He averaged 5 points a game and shot 40 percent from beyond the three-point arc. The Hornets made the playoffs but lost in a grueling back and forth series against Miami. Despite losing the final 7th game in Miami, Smith scored 25 points, including 5 three-pointers, against his former team. Once again a free agent before the following season, Smith signed with the

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most popu ...

Charlotte Bobcats, Return to Miami

Smith played in 37 games for the young Bobcats team, and averaged 7.9 points a game, including hitting the franchise's first three-point field goal. At midseason he was traded to Miami for Malik Allen. He would be used sparingly by the Heat, including in their playoff run which concluded with a loss in the conference finals to the defending champion

. Following the season Smith announced his retirement.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1991–92 , 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 ...

, 61 , , 59 , , 29.6 , , .454 , , .320 , , .748 , , 3.1 , , 4.6 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 12.0 , - , align="left" ,

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, align="left" ,

, 48 , , 43 , , 33.5 , , .451 , , .402 , , .787 , , 4.1 , , 5.6 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 16.0 , - , align="left" , 1993–94 , align="left" ,

, 78 , , 77 , , 35.6 , , .456 , , .347 , , .835 , , 4.5 , , 5.1 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 17.3 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" ,

, 2 , , 2 , , 31.0 , , .379 , , .167 , , .773 , , 3.0 , , 3.5 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 20.5 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" ,

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, 78 , , 59 , , 33.4 , , .427 , , .334 , , .845 , , 3.5 , , 3.4 , , .8 , , .4 , , 16.2 , - , align="left" , 1995–96 , align="left" ,

, 80 , , 80 , , 35.7 , , .432 , , .331 , , .826 , , 4.1 , , 2.8 , , .8 , , .2 , , 18.1 , - , align="left" , 1996–97 , align="left" ,

, 72 , , 72 , , 39.1 , , .429 , , .335 , , .847 , , 3.3 , , 4.2 , , .9 , , .3 , , 20.1 , - , align="left" , 1997–98 , align="left" ,

, 73 , , 73 , , 39.1 , , .444 , , .351 , , .855 , , 4.2 , , 4.0 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , 20.1 , - , align="left" , 1998–99 , align="left" ,

, 36 , , 36 , , 36.5 , , .402 , , .338 , , .849 , , 4.2 , , 3.3 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 18.7 , - , align="left" , 1999–00 , align="left" , Portland , 82 , , 81 , , 32.8 , , .467 , , .398 , , .850 , , 3.8 , , 2.5 , , .9 , , .4 , , 14.9 , - , align="left" , 2000–01 , align="left" , Portland , 81 , , 36 , , 31.4 , , .456 , , .339 , , .890 , , 3.4 , , 2.6 , , .6 , , .3 , , 13.6 , - , align="left" , 2001–02 , 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= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

, 77 , , 76 , , 28.7 , , .455 , , style="background:#cfecec;", .472* , , .878 , , 2.5 , , 2.0 , , .7 , , .2 , , 11.6 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 2002–03† , align="left" ,

, 53 , , 18 , , 19.5 , , .388 , , .331 , , .833 , , 1.9 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , .2 , , 6.8 , - , align="left" , 2003–04 , align="left" ,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, 71 , , 4 , , 13.1 , , .406 , , .402 , , .928 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , .2 , , .1 , , 5.0 , - , align="left" , 2004–05 , align="left" ,

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, 37 , , 1 , , 17.2 , , .427 , , .422 , , .870 , , 1.3 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , .2 , , 7.9 , - , align="left" , 2004–05 , align="left" ,

, 13 , , 0 , , 8.8 , , .300 , , .200 , , .667 , , 1.2 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , .0 , , 1.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 942 , , 717 , , 30.6 , , .440 , , .358 , , .845 , , 3.2 , , 3.1 , , .8 , , .2 , , 14.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 1 , , 0 , , 16.0 , , .500 , , .400 , , .000 , , 3.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 14.0

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

, align="left" ,

, 3 , , 3 , , 33.3 , , .529 , , .636 , , .833 , , 2.0 , , 5.0 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 16.0 , - , align="left" ,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

, align="left" ,

, 5 , , 5 , , 38.4 , , .413 , , .409 , , .840 , , 6.0 , , 2.2 , , .8 , , .4 , , 19.2 , - , align="left" ,

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, align="left" ,

, 3 , , 3 , , 36.0 , , .395 , , .389 , , .842 , , 2.7 , , 2.0 , , 2.0 , , .3 , , 19.0 , - , align="left" ,

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

, align="left" ,

, 10 , , 10 , , 42.1 , , .439 , , .410 , , .808 , , 4.1 , , 3.2 , , 1.3 , , 1.3 , , 21.7 , - , align="left" ,

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, align="left" ,

, 10 , , 10 , , 42.1 , , .396 , , .327 , , .824 , , 3.9 , , 1.7 , , .4 , , .1 , , 18.9 , - , align="left" ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, align="left" ,

, 4 , , 4 , , 40.0 , , .574 , , .500 , , .688 , , 2.8 , , 2.3 , , .5 , , .8 , , 24.8 , - , align="left" ,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, align="left" ,

, 9 , , 9 , , 39.6 , , .353 , , .273 , , .907 , , 3.4 , , 3.3 , , 1.6 , , .2 , , 17.3 , - , align="left" ,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, align="left" , Portland , 16 , , 16 , , 37.8 , , .486 , , .547 , , .885 , , 2.5 , , 2.8 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 17.1 , - , align="left" ,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

, align="left" , Portland , 3 , , 3 , , 40.7 , , .471 , , .364 , , .938 , , 4.3 , , 2.3 , , .7 , , .3 , , 17.0 , - , align="left" ,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, align="left" ,

, 10 , , 10 , , 29.8 , , .368 , , .263 , , .967 , , 3.4 , , 1.7 , , .8 , , .1 , , 10.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

† , align="left" ,

, 9 , , 0 , , 7.3 , , .208 , , .167 , , 1.000 , , .8 , , .7 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.8 , - , align="left" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

, align="left" ,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, 5 , , 0 , , 9.2 , , .462 , , .545 , , .667 , , 1.6 , , .2 , , .0 , , .0 , , 6.4 , - , align="left" ,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

, align="left" ,

, 3 , , 0 , , 2.7 , , .000 , , - , , - , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 90 , , 73 , , 32.2 , , .426 , , .394 , , .858 , , 3.0 , , 2.2 , , .9 , , .3 , , 14.9

Post-NBA career

Smith worked as an announcer on Atlanta Hawks games with Bob Rathbun and on the

Big Ten Network Big Ten Network (BTN) is an American sports network based in Chicago, Illinois. The channel is dedicated to coverage of collegiate sports sanctioned by the Big Ten Conference, including live and recorded event telecasts, news, analysis programs ...

as a college basketball analyst. For the 2008 season, Smith took a position at

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, regula ...

, and was replaced for Hawks broadcasts by

Dominique Wilkins Jacques Dominique Wilkins (born January 12, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All ...

. During the 2011 NBA All-Star Weekend, he was a member of the Atlanta team that won the

Shooting Stars Competition The Shooting Stars competition was a National Basketball Association (NBA) contest during All-Star Weekend that was held on the Saturday before the All-Star Game. It involved a current NBA player, a WNBA player, and a retired NBA player competing ...

Charitable work

Smith is well known for his charitable pursuits, including a US$2.5 million gift in 1997 to his alma mater,

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...

, where he was a star guard under coach Jud Heathcote. Smith's donation helped to fund the Clara Bell Smith Student Athlete Academic Center, which is named for his mother. This was the largest single donation by a professional athlete to his former school in history.

Personal life

Smith first met his wife, Millie, at a charity tennis tournament in Detroit. They had a long-distance relationship for more than a year before getting married in 1996. The couple have two sons, Brayden and Davis, and Smith often coaches them in soccer and basketball. He is the older cousin of NBA point guard

Kay Felder Kahlil Ameer "Kay" Felder Jr. (born March 29, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Shanxi Loongs of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Felder, a point guard, declared for the 2016 NBA draft at the conclusion of his ...

. Steve, who now resides in

, enjoys spending time with his kids and also enjoys the challenges of raising children.For NBA’s Steve Smith, a Career and Life Built on Giving is Coming Full Circle
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References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Steve 1969 births Living people 1994 FIBA World Championship players 21st-century African-American people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Detroit Charlotte Bobcats players College basketball announcers in the United States FIBA World Championship-winning players Medalists at the 1989 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Miami Heat draft picks Miami Heat players Michigan State Spartans men's basketball players National Basketball Association All-Stars National Basketball Association broadcasters New Orleans Hornets players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball People from Highland Park, Michigan Pershing High School alumni Portland Trail Blazers players San Antonio Spurs players Shooting guards United States men's national basketball team players Universiade gold medalists for the United States Universiade medalists in basketball 20th-century African-American sportspeople