25 in 25: No. 5 Josh Smith

This is a series that looks at the best Atlanta Hawks of the past 25 seasons dating back to the 2000-01 season. No. 6 Jeff Teague can be found here.

Even though Josh Childress was the higher selection in the 2004 NBA Draft, the selection of Josh Smith at 17th overall ultimately became the turning point for a franchise that was careening toward rock bottom. After a 13-win season in 2004-05 in Smith’s rookie season, the Hawks slowly grew into being a consistent playoff team by the end of the decade.

‘J-Smoove’ is from nearby Powder Springs, GA, and after graduating from McEachern High School, he went to Oak Hill Academy — a preparatory academy that has seen many NBA players come through their doors over the years like then teammate Rajon Rondo. Smith decided to enter the draft, bypassing college when it was still fairly common and easy to do so, and the Hawks pounced with one of their two first-round picks.

Very quickly, it was easy to see how physically mature the 6-foot-9 forward was despite entering the NBA at 18 years old. His acceleration and agility let him fly 94-feet down the court for lob finishes or chase-down blocks, and his long wingspan quickly became an obstacle for opposing players.

His rookie season, Smith averaged 9.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.9 blocks and 0.8 steals per game. His 3.7 blocks per 100 possessions (minimum 2000 minutes) as a rookie are the second-best mark of any non-center (per Stathead/basketball-reference), trailing only Andrei Kirilenko.

He also made his mark in the dunk contest during All-Star Weekend in 2005, recording three dunks with perfect score en route to taking home the title. With every lefty windmill jam, almost overnight Smoove went from just a local Atlanta kid to a household name.

Smith played both forward spots over the next few years, developing into a force as a downhill finisher at the rim, intelligent passer, and one of the best defenders on the planet as the Hawks built up their team towards their breakthrough in 2008.

Josh Smith signed an offer sheet with the Memphis Grizzlies during his restricted free agency in the summer of 2008, but the Hawks matched the five-year offer to keep him in Atlanta. While his production plateaued alongside the Hawks’ performances over the years, he remained a perennial fringe All-Star during the heart of his career, and in my opinion is one of the best players in league history never to earn that honor.

One persistent knock was Smith’s penchant for shooting medium to long mid-range jumpers despite no track record of being a good jump shooter. When Smoove was left alone near the elbow, a roar came over crowds in then Philips Arena pleading him not to shoot.

And yet he did. A lot.

Across his nine-year career in Atlanta, Smith took 32% of his shots from 10-feet out to the three-point line per basketball-reference’s shot tracking. He hit 33% of those for his Hawks career. 0.66 points per shot for those inclined towards math. Ew.

His three-point shooting during his nine-season career here was rather bad as well (28.3%). Not good, but at least that worked out to 0.85 points per shot.

As the league trended towards smaller, more skilled forwards who can handle and space the floor in the mid 2010s, Smith’s skillset wasn’t quite a fit for this new era.

The Detroit Pistons, however, didn’t get this memo.

When Smith reached unrestricted free agency in 2013, the Pistons inked him to a four-year deal to play the 3 alongside Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond. Smith only lasted one and a half of those seasons before his contract was amnestied (essentially stretched and waived for salary cap relief). He then bounced around the league until his last season in 2017-18.

For his Hawks career from 2004 to 2013, Smith averaged 15.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.1 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game. His standing in the franchise leaderboard is undeniable:

676 games — ninth all-time
23,078 minutes — fifth all-time
10,371 points — ninth all-time
4,030 field goals — seventh all-time
5,407 rebounds — seventh all-time
857 steals — fifth all-time
1,440 blocks — second all-time to Tree Rollins

The accolades shelf looks a little light for a top five Hawk of the past 25 years, but in reality, Smith should have one or two All-Star appearances and multiple more All-Defensive Team appearances. Every season from 2006-07 to 2011-12, he received votes for Defensive Player of the Year. But somehow, he only landed on a single All-Defensive Second Team in 2009-10 — a year in which he finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting behind Dwight Howard.

Ultimately, Smith made an underrated impact for this franchise. He was a key piece of six straight playoff teams. And while it’s sad that his game never quite matched up with his talent level — and that his playstyle quickly went the way of the dinosaur — the hometown kid is still remembered fondly.

Let’s take one last trip down memory lane: