Charles Smith (basketball, born 1965)

Last updated

Charles Smith
Charles Smith NBA (cropped).jpg
charles smith dominates the 1988 olyimpics
Personal information
Born (1965-07-16) July 16, 1965 (age 60)
Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school Warren Harding
(Bridgeport, Connecticut)
College Pittsburgh (1984–1988)
NBA draft 1988: 1st round, 3rd overall
Drafted by Philadelphia 76ers
Playing career1988–1998
Position Power forward
Number54, 6
Career history
19881992 Los Angeles Clippers
19921996 New York Knicks
19961998 San Antonio Spurs
Career highlights
Career NBA statistics
Points 8,107 (14.4 ppg)
Rebounds 3,246 (5.8 rpg)
Assists 798 (1.4 apg)
Stats at NBA.com  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Stats at Basketball Reference   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing Flag of the United States.svg United States
Summer Olympics
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1988 Seoul National team
FIBA World Championship
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1986 Spain National team

Charles Daniel Smith (born July 16, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1988 to 1998. He was an All-American college player for the Pittsburgh Panthers. He led the 1986 World Games USA Team in scoring to win the Gold Medal and Olympic bronze medal as a member of the United States national team in 1988.

Contents

College career

As a college player, Smith was named Big East Player of the Year in 1988. He was a member of the University of Pittsburgh's highly touted five-man recruiting class considered the country's best. [1] Along with power forward Jerome Lane, Smith and the Pitt Basketball Team became a major force in college basketball, opening the 1987–88 season ranked No. 4 nationally and rising as high as No. 2. during Smith's tenure.

He played and led the US national team in scoring during the 1986 FIBA World Championship, where he won the gold medal, [2] and at the 1988 Olympics, where he finished with a bronze.

NBA career

After his college career, the 6'10", 245 lb. power forward was selected third overall in the 1988 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers but immediately traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. He made the 1988 NBA All-Rookie Team by averaging 16 points and 8 rebounds. During his four years with the Clippers he was the team's top scorer averaging 19 points per game. He was later traded to the New York Knicks with Doc Rivers and Bo Kimble for point guard Mark Jackson. Coach Riley moved Smith from Power Forward to Small Forward to fill the hole left by Xavier McDaniel after the Knicks failed to re-sign him after their successful 1991–92 season. Smith's knees became problematic playing small forward around this time. As Smith's stats declined, he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for J. R. Reid before retiring in 1998.

Post-retirement

Smith is a Resource Board Member of Family Office Association developing global partnerships. Prior, he was Head of Sports & Entertainment MediaCom and Head of New Business for Midas Exchange, both owned by WPP/GroupM.

After retiring from the NBA, Smith served as Team Representative for the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and then as First Vice President. Smith helped create the NBPA Foundation, a non-profit to support retired players in need. Smith went on to serve as Executive Director of the National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA). Smith produced and executed exhibition games featuring over 40 retired NBA players.

Smith was founder and CEO of New Media Technology Corp. The company was the first to develop and patent customizable applications for video ingestion in 1998.

Smith played in an exhibition game organized by Dennis Rodman in North Korea, which was depicted in the 2015 documentary film Dennis Rodman's Big Bang in Pyongyang . [3] [4]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage 3P%  3-point field goal percentage FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1988–89 L.A. Clippers 715630.4.495.000.7256.51.51.01.316.3
1989–90 L.A. Clippers 787635.0.520.083.7946.71.51.11.521.1
1990–91 L.A. Clippers 747436.5.469.000.7938.21.81.12.020.0
1991–92 L.A. Clippers 492526.7.466.000.7856.11.10.82.014.6
1992–93 New York 816826.8.469.000.7825.31.80.61.212.4
1993–94 New York 432125.7.443.500.7193.81.20.61.010.4
1994–95 New York 765828.3.471.226.7924.31.60.61.312.7
1995–96 New York 41421.7.388.133.7093.90.70.41.27.4
1995–96 San Antonio 323025.8.458.7676.31.11.00.99.6
1996–97 San Antonio 19717.3.405.000.7693.40.70.71.24.6
Career56441929.0.475.194.7745.81.40.81.414.4

Playoffs

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1992 L.A. Clippers 5529.6.393.9335.61.80.82.411.6
1993 New York 151525.9.471.7404.01.30.60.911.1
1994 New York 251824.5.480.000.7293.81.00.51.08.8
1995 New York 111127.5.537.000.5673.81.21.21.510.8
1996 San Antonio 10816.5.500.3753.71.00.71.05.1
Career665724.5.481.000.7054.01.20.71.29.3

References

  1. "Hruby: The stories behind Jerome Lane's dunk".
  2. USA Basketball History, USA Basketball, archived from the original on August 18, 2008, retrieved August 19, 2008
  3. Almasy, Steve (January 12, 2014). "Rodman teammate Charles Smith: North Korea didn't pay us". CNN. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  4. "Ex-NBA star: Politics 'dwarf' N. Korea game". ESPN.com. January 7, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2025.