Jabari Smith

For his son, also an NBA player, see Jabari Smith Jr.

Jabari Montsho Smith Sr. (born February 12, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who played four seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Jabari Smith

Personal information
Born	(1977-02-12) February 12, 1977 (age 48) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight	250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school	Booker T. Washington (Atlanta, Georgia)
College	Atlanta Metropolitan State (1996–1998) LSU (1998–2000)
NBA draft	2000: 2nd round, 45th overall pick
Drafted by	Sacramento Kings
Playing career	2000–2010
Position	Center / power forward
Number	52, 41, 55
Career history
2000–2001	Sacramento Kings
2001–2002	Philadelphia 76ers
2002	CB Granada
2003–2004	Sacramento Kings
2004–2005	New Jersey Nets
2006–2007	Beşiktaş Cola Turka
2007–2008	Pardis Mottahed Qazvin BC
2009	Vaqueros de Bayamón
2009	Conquistadores de Guaynabo
2010	Pioneros de Quintana Roo
Career highlights
Second-team All-SEC (2000)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Professional career

After a college career at Louisiana State University, he was selected by the Sacramento Kings in the second round of the 2000 NBA draft. He has played for the Kings, the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Nets over a span of 5 years, for a total of 108 games and averages of 3 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. His final NBA game was played in Game 4 of the 2005 Eastern Conference First Round on May 1, 2005, against the Miami Heat. In that game, Smith only played for 44 seconds (substituting at the very end of the 4th quarter for Vince Carter) and recorded no stats. The Nets would lose the game and get swept by Miami. In that first round series, Smith played in 3 games for a total of 3 minutes.

Smith also played in Spain, Turkey, Iran, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.^[1] He last played with Pioneros de Quintana Roo in Mexico.^[2]

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
2000–01	Sacramento	19	0	10.5	.426	—	.667	.9	.7	.4	.0	2.9
2001–02	Sacramento	12	0	5.9	.286	.000	.500	1.2	.5	.2	.3	1.5
2002–03	Sacramento	11	0	10.0	.476	.000	.750	1.3	.5	.4	.2	5.0
2003–04	Sacramento	31	0	5.4	.371	.000	.600	1.0	.4	.1	.2	2.1
2004–05	New Jersey	45	2	14.4	.419	.500	.745	2.5	.8	.6	.3	3.7
Career		108	2	9.8	.413	.125	.690	1.6	.6	.3	.2	3.0

Personal life

His son, Jabari Smith Jr., is an NBA player for the Houston Rockets. He played in college for the Auburn Tigers basketball team. On January 16, 2023, during Smith Jr.’s rookie season, in a game between the Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers, he told LeBron James that “You played against my dad, your first NBA game ever… Sacramento.”^[3]

Smith's cousin Kwame Brown was selected as the first overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft.^[4]