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Charles Smith (basketball, born 1965)

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Charles Smith
Smith performing "Comedy for Cancer", 2016
Personal information
Born (1965-07-16) July 16, 1965 (age 59)
Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High schoolWarren Harding
(Bridgeport, Connecticut)
CollegePittsburgh (1984–1988)
NBA draft1988: 1st round, 3rd overall pick
Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers
Playing career1988–1998
PositionPower forward
Number54, 6
Career history
19881992Los Angeles Clippers
19921996New York Knicks
19961998San Antonio Spurs
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points8,107 (14.4 ppg)
Rebounds3,246 (5.8 rpg)
Assists798 (1.4 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  United States
Summer Olympics
Bronze medal – third place 1988 Seoul National team
FIBA World Championship
Gold medal – first place 1986 Spain National team

Charles Daniel Smith (born July 16, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1988 to 1998. He was an All-American college player for the Pittsburgh Panthers. He led the 1986 World Games USA Team in scoring to win the Gold Medal and Olympic bronze medal as a member of the United States national team in 1988.

College career

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As a college player, Smith was named Big East Player of the Year in 1988. He was a member of the University of Pittsburgh's highly touted five-man recruiting class considered the country's best.[1] Along with power forward Jerome Lane, Smith and the Pitt Basketball Team became a major force in college basketball, opening the 1987–88 season ranked No. 4 nationally and rising as high as No. 2. during Smith's tenure.

He played and led the US national team in scoring during the 1986 FIBA World Championship, where he won the gold medal,[2] and at the 1988 Olympics, where he finished with a bronze.

NBA career

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After his college career, the 6'10", 245 lb. power forward was selected third overall in the 1988 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers but immediately traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. He made the 1988 NBA All-Rookie Team by averaging 16 points and 8 rebounds. During his four years with the Clippers he was the team's top scorer averaging 19 points per game. He was later traded to the New York Knicks with Doc Rivers and Bo Kimble for point guard Mark Jackson. Smith was expected to fill the hole at small forward left by Xavier McDaniel after the Knicks failed to re-sign him after their successful 1991–92 season, a role that Smith struggled in as he was primarily a power forward. His knees became more problematic playing small forward around this time. As Smith's stats declined, he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for J. R. Reid before retiring in 1998.

Post-retirement

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Smith is a Resource Board Member of Family Office Association developing global partnerships. Prior, he was Head of Sports & Entertainment MediaCom and Head of New Business for Midas Exchange, both owned by WPP/GroupM.

After retiring from the NBA, Smith served as Team Representative for the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and then as First Vice President. Smith helped create the NBPA Foundation, a non-profit to support retired players in need. Smith went on to serve as Executive Director of the National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA). Smith produced and executed exhibition games featuring over 40 retired NBA players.

Smith was founder and CEO of New Media Technology Corp. The company was the first to develop and patent customizable applications for video ingestion in 1998.

Today, Charles D. Smith founded a construction company in Africa to develop sports and entertainment communities similar to LA Live in Los Angeles and Deer Park in Milwaukee.

NBA career statistics

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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

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1988–89 L.A. Clippers 71 56 30.4 .495 .000 .725 6.5 1.5 1.0 1.3 16.3
1989–90 L.A. Clippers 78 76 35.0 .520 .083 .794 6.7 1.5 1.1 1.5 21.1
1990–91 L.A. Clippers 74 74 36.5 .469 .000 .793 8.2 1.8 1.1 2.0 20.0
1991–92 L.A. Clippers 49 25 26.7 .466 .000 .785 6.1 1.1 0.8 2.0 14.6
1992–93 New York 81 68 26.8 .469 .000 .782 5.3 1.8 0.6 1.2 12.4
1993–94 New York 43 21 25.7 .443 .500 .719 3.8 1.2 0.6 1.0 10.4
1994–95 New York 76 58 28.3 .471 .226 .792 4.3 1.6 0.6 1.3 12.7
1995–96 New York 41 4 21.7 .388 .133 .709 3.9 0.7 0.4 1.2 7.4
1995–96 San Antonio 32 30 25.8 .458 .767 6.3 1.1 1.0 0.9 9.6
1996–97 San Antonio 19 7 17.3 .405 .000 .769 3.4 0.7 0.7 1.2 4.6
Career 564 419 29.0 .475 .194 .774 5.8 1.4 0.8 1.4 14.4

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1992 L.A. Clippers 5 5 29.6 .393 .933 5.6 1.8 0.8 2.4 11.6
1993 New York 15 15 25.9 .471 .740 4.0 1.3 0.6 0.9 11.1
1994 New York 25 18 24.5 .480 .000 .729 3.8 1.0 0.5 1.0 8.8
1995 New York 11 11 27.5 .537 .000 .567 3.8 1.2 1.2 1.5 10.8
1996 San Antonio 10 8 16.5 .500 .375 3.7 1.0 0.7 1.0 5.1
Career 66 57 24.5 .481 .000 .705 4.0 1.2 0.7 1.2 9.3

References

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  1. ^ "Hruby: The stories behind Jerome Lane's dunk".
  2. ^ USA Basketball History, USA Basketball, archived from the original on August 18, 2008, retrieved August 19, 2008
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