Donta Smith

Last updated

Donta Smith
Donta Smith (2).JPG
Smith with Hapoel Jerusalem, 2015
Free agent
Position Small forward
Personal information
Born (1983-11-27) November 27, 1983 (age 40)
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
NationalityAmerican / Venezuelan
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school Oldham County (Buckner, Kentucky)
College Southeastern Illinois (2002–2004)
NBA draft 2004: 2nd round, 34th overall pick
Selected by the Atlanta Hawks
Playing career2004–present
Career history
2004–2006 Atlanta Hawks
2005–2006→Arkansas RimRockers
2007 Academic Sofia
2008 Shanxi Zhongyu
2008–2009 South Dragons
2009 Gigantes de Carolina
2009–2010Shanxi Zhongyu
2010 Marinos de Anzoátegui
2010 Vaqueros de Bayamón
2010 Espartanos de Margarita
2010–2011 Liaoning Dinosaurs
2011Marinos de Anzoátegui
2011 Fuerza Regia
2012 Indios de Mayagüez
2012–2014 Maccabi Haifa
2014–2016 Hapoel Jerusalem
2017 Bucaneros de La Guaira
2017 Piratas de Quebradillas
2017–2018 Brindisi
2018 Santeros de Aguada.
2018–2019 Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez
2019–2020 Levallois Metropolitans
2020–2021 Maccabi Haifa
2021 Cangrejeros de Santurce
2023 Trotamundos de Carabobo
Career highlights and awards
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at NBA.com
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at Basketball-Reference.com

Donta Lamont Smith (born November 27, 1983) is an American-Venezuelan professional basketball player for Trotamundos de Carabobo of the Venezuelan Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto (SPB). Playing for Maccabi Haifa, he was named the 2014 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP.

Contents

High school

Smith played his high school basketball at Oldham County High School, in Buckner, Kentucky, where he was a standout forward on the high school team, and also a record-setting wide receiver on the football team. He also played on the Kentucky (high school) All-Stars in their annual two-game series against the Indiana All-Stars.

College career

After two years of playing junior college basketball at Southeastern Illinois College, Smith was rated as one of the top JUCO prospects, and he committed to play NCAA Division I college basketball for Rick Pitino at the University of Louisville, with the Louisville Cardinals. However, Smith backed out of the commitment, and entered the 2004 NBA draft instead.

Professional career

Smith was taken by the Atlanta Hawks in the second round of the 2004 NBA draft, after playing JUCO college basketball at Southeastern Illinois College, and he averaged 3.3 points per game for the Hawks during his two-season stint. On December 2, 2005, the Hawks assigned Smith to their NBA Development League affiliate, the Arkansas RimRockers. [1]

In January 2007, Smith signed a one-month contract with Bulgarian champions Academic Sofia, which could possibly be extended to five months. On December 24, 2008, Smith signed with the South Dragons of the Australian National Basketball League. He had previously been with the Chinese Basketball Association's Shanxi Zhongyu but was waived to make roster space available for Bonzi Wells. [2]

In 2009, Smith went on to win the 2009 NBL championship with the South Dragons, and was named Finals MVP after starring for the team in the 5-game series. After one season with the South Dragons, Smith would return to the Shanxi Zhongyu for the 2009–10 season. In December 2010 he signed with the Liaoning Dinosaurs. [3]

In 2011, Smith signed with Fuerza Regia in Mexico. [4] He later played for the Indios de Mayaguez of Puerto Rico, [5] and Maccabi Haifa of Israel. [6]

Smith led Haifa to its first Israeli Super League title ever during the 2012–13 season, his first with his team, along with teammate Gal Mekel. In the following season, 2013–14, Smith was awarded the Israeli Basketball League's Most Valuable Player Award, after leading Haifa to the finals for the second time in a row. Haifa, however, could not win the title again, after losing the finals to EuroLeague superpower Maccabi Tel Aviv. In 2014, he was chosen the MVP of the Israeli All-Star game.

In June 2014, after two successful seasons with Haifa, Smith signed a three-year contract with Israeli team Hapoel Jerusalem. In his first season with the team, he was instrumental in its winning its first ever national championship. He left Hapoel Jerusalem in July 2016 after losing the opportunity for a second title to Maccabi Rishon LeZion BC.

On November 23, 2017, Smith signed with New Basket Brindisi for the rest of the 2017–18 LBA season. [7]

On June 4, 2018, Smith signed with Santeros de Aguada for the rest of the 2018 BSN Season. [8]

On July 9, 2018, Smith signed with the French team Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez for the 2018–19 season. [9]

On August 31, 2019, he has signed 3-months deal with Levallois Metropolitans of the LNB Pro A. [10] Smith averaged 8.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.

On July 15, 2020, he signed with Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Premier League. [11] On March 8, 2021, he was released by the team. In 2020-21 he was third in the Israel Basketball Premier League in three-point field goal percentage (46.0 per cent), but third in turnovers per game (3.0). [12]

On September 23, Smith signed with Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. [13]

National team career

In August 2013, Smith was naturalized as a Venezuelan, in order for him to be able to play with the Venezuelan national basketball team. [14] He played with Venezuela at the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship.

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References

  1. ↑ "Media Central Login – NBA Media Central".
  2. ↑ "Dragons' new man cleared to play". www.heraldsun.com.au. December 23, 2008.
  3. ↑ "Good to go: Liaoning signs its second import, Donta Smith • NiuBBall.com". December 10, 2010. Archived from the original on December 16, 2010. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Mexican Basketball, News, Teams, Scores, Stats, Standings, Awards - latinbasket". www.latinbasket.com.
  5. ↑ "Puerto Rican Basketball, News, Teams, Scores, Stats, Standings, Awards - latinbasket". www.latinbasket.com.
  6. ↑ "מנהלת ליגת העל בכדורסל | מכבי ת"א, ירושלים, מכבי חיפה ואשדוד בחצי הגמר". basket.co.il.
  7. ↑ "Happy Casa Brindisi signs Donta Smith".
  8. ↑ "Donta Smith signs with Santeros de Aguada". Sportando.basketball. June 4, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2018.[ permanent dead link ]
  9. ↑ "Pau-Orthez signs Donta Smith". Sportando.basketball. July 9, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.[ permanent dead link ]
  10. ↑ Skerletic, Dario (August 31, 2019). "Metropolitans sign Donta Smith". Sportando. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  11. ↑ Maggi, Alessandro (July 15, 2020). "Forward Donta Smith returns to Maccabi Haifa". Sportando. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Israel basketball stats, results, box score, scout report and video online | Scouting4U".
  13. ↑ "Cangrejeros de Santurce inks Donta Smith". Sportando. September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Donta Smith se nacionaliza y se ofrece para jugar con Venezuela". Archived from the original on December 13, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
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