NBA Career
Smith was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 17th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft.
Having entered the league straight out of high school, Smith has publicly disagreed with the rule change that prohibited high school players from entering the NBA Entry Draft.
He won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest during his rookie year in the 2005 NBA All-Star Weekend. He averaged 9.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.95 blocks per game for the 2004–05 season and was selected to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. For the 2005–06 season, Smith averaged 2.25 blocks per game, ranking seventh in the NBA.
After the NBA All-Star Weekend, he continued his steady development. He finished second in the NBA in total blocks, 4th in blocks per game and averaged 15.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 4.1 apg, 3.1 bpg and 1.0 spg after the All-Star break and his contribution helped the Hawks double their win total of 13 wins from the previous season to finish 26-56.
On March 3, 2007, Smith broke the 500-block mark, making him the youngest player to do so in NBA history. Smith ended the 2006–07 season with 16.4 points per game, 8.6 rebounds per game, 3.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.9 blocks, dramatically improving on his previous season's stats. Leading the Hawks after Joe Johnson's season-ending injury, Smith produced a career high 32 points and 19 rebounds in Johnson's absence. He eclipsed this mark on November 17, 2007 with a new career high of 38 points on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks.
On August 8, 2008, Smith signed an offer sheet to play with the Memphis Grizzlies, but the Hawks quickly matched the offer sheet. Smith was told by Atlanta to go out as a restricted free agent to test the market, putting the pressure on Smith to essentially go out and set his price.
On February 2, 2010, against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Smith became the youngest player (at 24 years old) to block 1000 shots.
Read more about this topic: Josh Smith
Famous quotes containing the word career:
“A black boxer’s career is the perfect metaphor for the career of a black male. Every day is like being in the gym, sparring with impersonal opponents as one faces the rudeness and hostility that a black male must confront in the United States, where he is the object of both fear and fascination.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)