Dru Smith

Dru Smith

Smith with Missouri in 2020
No. 12–Miami Heat
Position	Shooting guard
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	(1997-12-30) December 30, 1997 (age 26) Evansville, Indiana, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight	203 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school	FJ Reitz (Evansville, Indiana)
College	Evansville (2016–2018) Missouri (2019–2021)
NBA draft	2021: undrafted
Playing career	2021–present
Career history
2021–2023	Sioux Falls Skyforce
2022	Miami Heat
2023	Brooklyn Nets
2023	→Long Island Nets
2023–present	Miami Heat
2024–present	→Sioux Falls Skyforce
Career highlights and awards
First-team All-SEC – Coaches (2021) Second-team All-SEC – AP (2021) SEC All-Defensive Team (2021) MVC Most Improved Team (2018) MVC All-Freshman Team (2017)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Dru Smith (born December 30, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Evansville Purple Aces and the Missouri Tigers.

High school career

Smith attended FJ Reitz High School in Evansville, Indiana. In his junior season he averaged 10.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game as a starting point guard alongside Jaelan Sanford and Alex Stein. Smith helped his team achieve a 29–2 record and reach the Class 4A state title game. ^[1] As a senior, he averaged 20.8 points, 7.3 assists, seven rebounds and 4.1 steals per game, leading Reitz to a 22–5 record and the Class 4A regional finals. Smith was named to the Indiana All-Star team. ^[2] He committed to playing college basketball for Evansville over offers from Ball State, Northern Kentucky, South Alabama and Indiana State. ^[3] Smith was drawn to the school because it was close to home. ^[4]

College career

Evansville

On February 22, 2017, Smith scored a freshman season-high 19 points for Evansville, making five three-pointers, in a 109–83 loss to Wichita State. ^[5] As a freshman, he averaged 5.3 points, 2.9 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game, earning Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) All-Freshman Team honors. ^[6] On December 5, 2017, Smith recorded a sophomore season-high 25 points, shooting 11-of-13 from the field, seven assists and four steals in a 91–76 win over Bowling Green. ^[7] As a sophomore, he averaged 13.7 points, 4.6 assists and two steals per game, leading the MVC with a 48.2 three-point field goal percentage. ^[8] He was named to the MVC Most Improved Team. ^[1]

Missouri

After his sophomore season, Smith transferred to Missouri over offers from Xavier and Virginia Tech. ^[9] He sat out the following season due to National Collegiate Athletic Association transfer rules. ^[1] On November 12, 2019, he posted his first career double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds in a 63–58 overtime loss to Xavier. ^[10] On February 15, 2020, he scored a junior season-high 28 points in an 85–73 victory over 11th-ranked Auburn. ^[11] As a junior, Smith averaged 12.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game. He recorded 64 steals, which led the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and ranked sixth in program history. ^[12] As a senior, Smith averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game. ^[13]

Professional career

Miami Heat / Sioux Falls Skyforce (2021–2023)

After going undrafted in the 2021 NBA draft, Smith joined the Miami Heat for the 2021 NBA Summer League ^{[14] [15]} and on September 10, he signed a contract with the Heat. ^[16] He was waived prior to the start of the season and joined the Sioux Falls Skyforce as an affiliate player. ^[17] On February 1, 2022, Smith was waived after being ruled out for the season with a knee injury. ^[18]

On October 13, 2022, Smith was signed to a two-way contract with the Miami Heat. ^[19] He was waived by the Heat on November 13, and subsequently re-joined the Skyforce. ^[20] On November 25, 2022, Smith was re-signed to a two-way contract with the Heat ^[21] and subsequently waived on December 11, and re-joined the Skyforce two days later. ^[22]

Brooklyn Nets (2023)

On January 13, 2023, Smith signed a two-way contract with the Brooklyn Nets. ^[23]

Return to Miami (2023–present)

On July 1, 2023, Smith signed a two-way contract with the Miami Heat ^[24] and on October 21, his deal was converted into a standard contract. ^[25]

On November 24, 2023, it was announced that Smith would miss the remainder of the 2023–24 NBA season due to an ACL injury sustained during a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on November 22. The head coach of the Heat, Erik Spoelstra, blamed the court design at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse for the incident. ^[26] On March 6, 2024, he was waived by the Heat. ^[27]

On July 1, 2024, Smith signed a two-way contract with the Heat. ^[28]

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games 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

NBA

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2022–23	Miami	5	1	13.4	.357	.167	—	1.8	1.0	.8	.6	2.2
	Brooklyn	10	0	9.1	.419	.308	1.000	1.5	1.7	.6	.1	3.3
2023–24	Miami	9	0	14.5	.455	.412	1.000	1.6	1.6	1.0	.3	4.3
2024–25	Miami	14	1	19.1	.508	.533	.769	2.6	1.6	1.5	.4	6.3
Career		38	2	14.7	.460	.424	.833	1.9	1.6	1.1	.3	4.5

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2016–17	Evansville	28	8	22.5	.445	.327	.818	2.6	2.9	.8	.4	5.3
2017–18	Evansville	22	22	30.2	.578	.482	.862	3.5	4.6	2.0	.5	13.7
2018–19	Missouri	Redshirt
2019–20	Missouri	31	31	32.8	.412	.294	.899	4.2	3.9	2.1	.4	12.7
2020–21	Missouri	26	26	34.1	.442	.398	.833	3.5	3.8	2.1	.3	14.3
Career		107	87	29.9	.459	.373	.865	3.5	3.8	1.7	.4	11.4

References

1. Napier, Briar (February 13, 2020). "The "hidden jewel" of Evansville: Dru Smith thriving after leaving only home he ever knew". Columbia Missourian . Retrieved November 13, 2020.
2. Neddenriep, Kyle (April 5, 2020). "Build-A-Team: Putting together the best Evansville Reitz basketball team". The Indianapolis Star . Retrieved November 13, 2020.
3. Hickey, Pat (April 27, 2018). "Former Evansville guard Dru Smith commits to Missouri basketball". Evansville Courier & Press . Retrieved November 13, 2020.
4. Allar, Daniel (November 12, 2015). "Simmons: Reitz's Smith "a great fit" for UE". Evansville Courier & Press . Retrieved November 13, 2020.
5. "Dru Smith Has Career Game Against Wichita State". City-County Observer. February 22, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
6. Hickey, Pat (October 4, 2017). "Simmons: Dru Smith has made 'huge' gains after solid freshman season for UE basketball". Evansville Courier & Press . Retrieved November 13, 2020.
7. "Smith has career-high 25, Evansville beats Bowling Green". USA Today . Associated Press. December 5, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
8. Moore, CJ (July 2, 2019). "The path to a resurgent Missouri begins with Dru Smith". The Athletic . Retrieved November 14, 2020.
9. Schiffer, Alex (April 29, 2018). "Connection to Mizzou assistant helped land Evansville transfer Dru Smith". The Kansas City Star . Retrieved November 14, 2020.
10. "No. 21 Xavier rallies past Missouri 63-58 in overtime". ESPN . Associated Press. November 12, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
11. Walljasper, Joe (February 15, 2020). "Dru Smith, Pinson each score 28 points as Mizzou upsets No. 11 Auburn 85-73". Fox Sports . Associated Press . Retrieved November 14, 2020.
12. Hollins, Tyler (November 12, 2020). "Dru Smith named to preseason All-SEC second team". Lebanon Democrat . Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
13. "Heat's Dru Smith: Joins Heat's summer team". CBS Sports . July 30, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
14. Beguiristain, Joe (August 1, 2021). "2021 Miami HEAT Summer League Roster". NBA.com. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
15. Kristensen, Anthony (August 11, 2021). "Smith, Tilmon playing in NBA Summer League". Columbia Missourian . Retrieved September 2, 2021.
16. Moorhead, Couper (September 10, 2021). "HEAT SIGNS POTTER, SMART AND SMITH". NBA.com. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
17. Engelhardt, Gordon (October 19, 2021). "Reitz graduate Dru Smith waived by Miami Heat, appears headed to NBA G League". Evansville Courier & Press . Retrieved October 27, 2021.
18. "SKYFORCE ACQUIRES CHANDLER HUTCHISON". NBA.com. February 1, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
19. "HEAT CONVERT DRU SMITH TO TWO-WAY CONTRACT". NBA.com. October 13, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
20. "Heat Sign Orlando Robinson to Two-Way Contract". NBA. November 13, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
21. "HEAT SIGN DRU SMITH TO TWO-WAY CONTRACT". NBA.com. November 25, 2022. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
22. Miami HEAT [@MiamiHEAT] (December 11, 2022). "OFFICIAL: The Miami HEAT have signed Orlando Robinson to a two-way contract and have waived Dru Smith" (Tweet). Retrieved December 11, 2022– via Twitter.
23. "Brooklyn Nets Sign Dru Smith". NBA.com. January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
24. "HEAT SIGN DRU SMITH TO TWO-WAY CONTRACT". NBA.com. July 1, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
25. "HEAT SIGN DRU SMITH TO STANDARD CONTRACT". NBA.com. October 21, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
26. Richardson, Shandel (November 24, 2023). "Miami Heat's Dru Smith Out For Season Due To Knee Injury". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
27. "HEAT SIGN PATTY MILLS". NBA.com. March 6, 2024. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
28. "HEAT SIGN DRU SMITH TO TWO-WAY CONTRACT". NBA.com. July 1, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2024.

External links

• Career statistics from NBA.com    and  Basketball Reference  
• Evansville Purple Aces bio
• Missouri Tigers bio