In the NLL, he has won the MVP award twice and has won 2 consecutive championships with the Bandits in 2023 and 2024, (championship game MVP in 23) and in 2024 set the NLL single-season assists record (101) and all-time playoffs assists record. In the PLL, he won a championship with the Chaos in 2021, and was named an All-Star in 2021 and 2023. He also won a gold medal at the 2019 World Indoor Lacrosse Championships for Canada.
He is known for his offensive effectiveness and astute passing skills, and holds the current NLL single-season points record, while also simultaneously holding both the current single-season goals record and the current NLL single-season assists record.[1][2]
Early life
Smith grew up in the heart of Kitchener. A lacrosse player from birth, he later in life transitioned into hockey and football, where he reached elite levels in both. Known by many as a multi-sport athlete, Smith led his high school football team to a championship final while running the offence as a gunslinging mobile quarterback.
Smith is a cousin of former NLL Defensive Player of the Year Billy Dee Smith.
Smith declined several offers from NCAA universities and instead declared for the 2012 NLL draft.[5] Smith was drafted fifth overall by the Bandits in the 2012 NLL Entry Draft. He began his NLL career as a transition player, but eventually switched to forward. He ranked third on the Bandits in scoring in both 2013 and 2014. In 2016, he set a Bandits record for most goals in a season and set the NLL single-season record for most points in a season. At the end of the season, Smith was named NLL MVP, becoming the first Black player to win the award.[6]
Smith won his second MVP award during the 2022 season, where he set the single season record for assists with 94, making him the fifth player ever to become a multi-time MVP.[7] The following season, he broke his assist record, finishing with 96, and was runner-up to Christian Del Bianco for MVP, while being named first team All-NLL for the third time.[8]
MLL
Smith joined the Rochester Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse ahead of the 2016 season despite having little experience in field lacrosse, where he played under coach Tim Soudan.[5]
PLL
Smith played for Chaos in the inaugural season of the Premier Lacrosse League, recording four points in five regular season games, and an additional four points in two playoff games.[9] Smith became a focal point in the Chaos offense during the 2020 season, and in 2021, he finished second among all midfielders in assists with 13 before leading the playoffs with 18 points, en route to Chaos' first championship.[10]
Away from lacrosse, Smith hosts a podcast, The Dhane and Josh Show, with Bandits and Chaos teammate Josh Byrne.[14] Both Smith and Byrne, who are Black Canadians, have supported the Black Lives Matter movement.[15]
GP–Games played; G–Goals; A–Assists; Pts–Points; LB–Loose balls; PIM–Penalty minutes; Pts/GP–Points per games played; LB/GP–Loose balls per games played; PIM/GP–Penalty minutes per games played.
GP–Games played; G–Goals; A–Assists; Pts–Points; LB–Loose balls; PIM–Penalty minutes; Pts/GP–Points per games played; LB/GP–Loose balls per games played; PIM/GP–Penalty minutes per games played.
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