Josh Smith life and biography

Josh Smith is an American professional basketball player with the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA. Josh is one of five kids born to Paulette and Pete Smith. His siblings are Walter, Phebe, Kasola and Shanti. His popular nickname is J-Smoove.

Atlanta retained Smith after matching an offer sheet by the Memphis Grizzlies on August 15, 2008 Selected by the Hawks with the 17th overall pick (first round) in the 2004 NBA Draft.

LAST SEASON (2009-10):

Smoove put it all together last season, taking his rightful place as one of the league’s top all-around players, turning in perhaps his best defensive year, and adding a vastly improved offensive repertoire focused on utilizing his athleticism around the basket
• Also became one of the best passing big men in the game
• Runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year Award, and named second-team All-Defensive, Smith finished the campaign with averages of 15.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 4.2 apg, 2.1 bpg and 1.6 spg in 35.4 mpg (.505 FG%, .618 FT%), appearing in 81 games for the second time in the last three years
• Was the only player in the league to average at least 15.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg and 4.0 apg
• Ranked 3rd in the NBA in bpg and total blocks (173), 18th in rpg, t12th in off. rpg (2.8), 11th in spg, t24th in FG%, 33rd in apg and t38th in mpg
• The shortest player in the top 12 in the league in blocks, and the tallest in the top 12 in steals
• Team leader in bpg and spg, while ranking 2nd in rpg, apg and FG%, and 3rd in ppg
• Led the team in scoring (15x), rebounding (30x) and assists (26x)
• Had 19 20-point outings
• Ranked 24th in the league with 27 double-doubles (including his second career triple-double)
• Tallied 18 pts and career-high 11 assts v/Det (3/13)
• Scored season-best 29 pts v/GS (3/5)
• Grabbed a season-high 18 rebs and had 17 pts @Chi (3/1)
• Had 18 pts, 11 rebs, 8 assts and career-high 7 stls v/Dall (2/26)
• Recorded triple-double v/Chi (2/5) with 18 pts, 14 rebs and 10 assts
• Became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 blocks @OKC (2/2) at 24 years, 59 days old
• Recorded his 1,000th career assist v/Ind (10/28), 2,000th career FGM @Sac (11/4), 3,000th career reb @Den (12/23) and 6,000th career point v/Chi (2/5)

HIGH SCHOOL CAREER:

Smith transferred to Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, VA) for his senior season, after attending McEachern High School in Powder Springs, GA for three years
• Originally committed to play at Indiana University before declaring for the draft
• Named a 2004 McDonald's All-American and played in the McDonald's High School All-America game
• Named to the PARADE All-America Team, and was selected to the 2004 USA Men's Junior National Select Team
• Excelled in several postseason all-star games, including the EA Sports Roundball Classic (15 points) and the Nike Hoop Summit (27 points), where he was named the MVP after leading the USA Select Team to a 99-79 win over the World Select squad

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