Zhaire Smith

Zhaire Jahi-ihme Smith (born June 4, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Texas Tech.

Zhaire Smith
No. 7 – Philadelphia 76ers
PositionShooting guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1999-06-04) June 4, 1999
Garland, Texas
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High schoolLakeview Centennial
(Garland, Texas)
CollegeTexas Tech (2017–2018)
NBA draft2018 / Round: 1 / Pick: 16th overall
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–presentPhiladelphia 76ers
2019–2020→Delaware Blue Coats
Career highlights and awards
  • Big 12 All-Defensive Team (2018)
  • Big 12 All-Newcomer Team (2018)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

High school career

Smith attended Lakeview Centennial High School, where he was coached by J. T. Locklear. He averaged 20.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game as a senior. Smith earned District 10-6A MVP honors and was voted the best dunker in the Dallas region by area coaches. Coming out of high school, Smith was a three-star recruit and chose Texas Tech over Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Kansas State, Memphis, Oregon, and Texas.[1]

College career

In his freshman season at Texas Tech, he averaged 11.3 points and five rebounds per game.[2] He was an honorable mention Big-12 selection and was named to the conference's All-Defensive team. Alongside Keenan Evans, Smith led Texas Tech to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to eventual champion Villanova.[3] Smith had a career-high 21 points and to go along with eight rebounds, three steals and two assists in a February 7 win over Iowa State.[4] He flirted with a triple-double with 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in a 69-66 victory in the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament versus Florida, and posted several highlight-reel dunks.[5]

Following the season, he declared for the 2018 NBA draft without initially hiring an agent.[2] In late April it was announced that Smith signed with Roc Nation Sports, thus ending his collegiate eligibility.[3]

Professional career

Philadelphia 76ers (2018–present)

On June 21, 2018, Smith was selected with the sixteenth overall pick by the Phoenix Suns in the 2018 NBA draft, but was immediately traded, along with the Miami Heat's 2021 first round pick, to the Philadelphia 76ers for Mikal Bridges.[6] On July 2, he signed with the 76ers.[7] On August 6, he fractured his foot at a summer development camp and required surgery.[8] On August 10, 2018, the surgery to repair an acute Jones fracture of the fifth metatarsal in Smith's left foot was successful.[9] A month later in September, Smith went through a thoracoscopy due to an allergic reaction relating to ingesting sesame, which caused further problems in his road to recovery.[10] While general manager Elton Brand expressed doubt that he would be able to play for the 76ers in the regular season, Smith made his debut with the Delaware Blue Coats for the NBA G League on March 1, 2019 against the Maine Red Claws.[11] He averaged 7.2 points with 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 11 G-League games with the Blue Coats, starting five.[12]

Smith made his NBA debut on March 25, 2019 in a 119-98 loss to the Orlando Magic, scoring three points with a steal and one rebound in five and a half minutes of play.[13] In his rookie season, Smith averaged 6.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 18.5 minutes played in six games (two starts) including 17 points, four rebounds and five assists when he started the final game of the regular season against the Chicago Bulls.[14] Smith also played in two games during the 2019 NBA Playoffs with the 76ers, albeit with limited production in either game.[15]

As a result of an allergic reaction, Smith lost weight and reworked his shot in his second professional season. He started the season for the Blue Coats shooting 4-of-18 from behind the arc, but improved his shooting since December.[16] On February 27, 2020, Smith had 16 points and six rebounds, shooting 7-for-16 from the floor in a 125-106 loss to the Wisconsin Herd.[17]

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

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018–19 Philadelphia 6218.5.412.375.7502.21.7.3.36.7
Career 6218.5.412.375.7502.21.7.3.36.7

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019 Philadelphia 202.5———.0.0.5.0.0
Career 202.5———.0.0.5.0.0

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Texas Tech 372128.4.556.450.7175.01.81.11.111.3

Personal life

Smith's mother Andrea Aaron was a high school track star qualifying 4 years in the State of Louisiana in the High Hurdles. He has a sister, Aayinde.[18] Smith also has a peanut allergy.[19]

gollark: Looks like it was put together using some poorly optimized web framework.
gollark: This cannot possibly go wrong.
gollark: > This may be because synthesized faces tend to look more like average faces which themselves are deemed more trustworthy They *do* suggest your explanation in the paper, actually.
gollark: Apparently this is mostly due to them explaining the artifacts which are common in synthetic ones, but newer methods don't really have those as much anyway.
gollark: Experiment 2 is after they take some new people and train them on how to detect synthetic ones.

References
  1. "Men's Basketball Signs Zhaire Smith to NLI". Texas Tech Red Raiders. April 13, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  2. Dauster, Rob (April 4, 2018). "Texas Tech star declares for draft without signing with agent". NBC Sports. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  3. Dawson, Peter (April 30, 2018). "Texas Tech's Zhaire Smith officially signs with Roc Nation Sports, loses college eligbility [sic]". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  4. Silva, Carlos (February 7, 2018). "Smith nets career high 21 points, powers No. 7 Texas Tech to fifth straight win". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  5. Silva, Carlos (March 18, 2018). "Zhaire Smith puts on show for pro-Texas Tech crowd in Dallas". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  6. Seltzer, Brian (June 21, 2018). "Draft 2018 Sought-After Prospect, Future Pick Highlight Acquisitions". NBA.com. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  7. "Philadelphia 76ers Sign Zhaire Smith". NBA.com. July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  8. Boone, Kyle (August 7, 2018). "76ers rookie Zhaire Smith fractures foot at summer development camp and will need surgery, a report says". CBS Sports. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  9. "Medical Update Smith's Surgery Successful". NBA.com. August 10, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  10. Levick, Noah (9 November 2018). "Sixers rookie won't return in 2018 after additional complications". NBC Sports Philadelphia.
  11. Levick, Noah (1 March 2019). "After long journey back to court, rusty Zhaire Smith makes pro debut". NBC Sports Philadelphia.
  12. "Zhaire Smith G-League Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  13. Carlin, Ky (March 25, 2019). "Zhaire Smith makes long awaited NBA debut in blowout loss to Magic". Sixers Wire. USA Today. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  14. Johnson, Lucas (April 12, 2019). "Philadelphia 76ers Rookie Report: Zhaire Smith starts". TheSixerSense.com. FanSided. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  15. Zhaire Smith 2018-19 Game Log
  16. Levick, Noah (January 21, 2020). "Sixers' Zhaire Smith is 'hunting 3s' in the G League". NBC Sports. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  17. Carlin, Ky (February 28, 2020). "Sixers prospect Zhaire Smith beginning to show progress in G League". Sixers Wire. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  18. Norlander, Matt (June 19, 2018). "How Zhaire Smith's wheelchair-bound father helped mold him into a potential 2018 NBA lottery pick". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  19. Kennedy, Sean (10 November 2018). "Zhaire Smith suffers foot rehab setback due to a food allergy. What?". Liberty Ballers.
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