Robert Smith (basketball)

For other people named Robert Smith, see Robert Smith (disambiguation).

Robert Leroy Smith (born March 10, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the UNLV Runnin' Rebels.

Robert Smith

Personal information
Born	(1955-03-10) March 10, 1955 (age 70) Los Angeles, California
Nationality	American
Listed height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Listed weight	165 lb (75 kg)
Career information
High school	Crenshaw (Los Angeles, California)
College	Arizona Western (1973–1974) UNLV (1974–1977)
NBA draft	1977: 3rd round, 65th overall pick
Drafted by	Denver Nuggets
Playing career	1977–1992
Position	Point guard
Number	5, 10, 9
Career history
1977–1979	Denver Nuggets
1979	Utah Jazz
1979–1980	New Jersey Nets
1980	Cleveland Cavaliers
1981–1982	Montana Golden Nuggets
1982	Milwaukee Bucks
1982	San Diego Clippers
1982–1983	Montana Golden Nuggets
1983	San Antonio Spurs
1983–1984	Toronto Tornados
1984	Cleveland Cavaliers
1984–1985	Toronto Tornados
1985–1989	AS Monaco
1989–1992	Olympique Antibes
Career highlights
French League champion (1991) 2× French League All-Star Game MVP (1987, 1990) French League All-Star (1987–1990) CBA Most Valuable Player (1983) 3× All-CBA First Team (1983–1985) All-CBA Second Team (1982) CBA All-Defensive Second Team (1985) CBA assists leader (1983) No. 2 retired by UNLV Runnin' Rebels
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

College career

A 5'11" tall point guard, Smith played college basketball at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where as a member of the fabled "Hardway Eight", that was coached by the legendary Jerry Tarkanian, and that took the Runnin' Rebels to their first NCAA Final Four, in 1977. His jersey was honored by UNLV in 2022.^[1]

Professional career

Smith was selected by the Denver Nuggets, in the third round of the 1977 NBA draft, with the 65th overall draft pick. Smith played for seven NBA teams, in as many seasons from, 1977 to 1984. On November 17, 1978, while he was playing with the Denver Nuggets, Smith scored a career-high 19 points, in a game against the Boston Celtics.

In October 1979, Smith was traded by the Denver Nuggets to the Utah Jazz. In November 1979, he was signed as a free agent by the New Jersey Nets.

Coaching career

After he finished his pro club basketball playing career, Smith worked as a basketball coach at the AAU level. He coached at the Bill and Lilly Heinrich YMCA in Las Vegas, Nevada, along with his fellow UNLV teammate and lifelong friend, "Sudden" Sam Smith.

Personal life

Smith was born in Los Angeles, California. He suffered a stroke in 2019. He is still recovering.^[1]

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
*	Led the league

NBA

Source^[2]

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1977–78	Denver	45		8.4	.515		.875	.8	.9	.4	.1	2.7
1978–79	Denver	82*		18.0	.422		.883	1.8	2.5	.7	.2	6.4
1979–80	Utah	6		12.2	.333	–	1.000	.5	1.2	.7	.0	1.5
	New Jersey	59		12.5	.445	.308	.862	1.3	1.4	.4	.1	5.2
1980–81	Cleveland	1		20.0	.400	–	1.000	3.0	3.0	.0	.0	8.0
1981–82	Milwaukee	17	1	18.6	.473	.200	.833	.8	2.6	.6	.1	6.8
1982–83	San Diego	5	0	8.6	.154	.000	.875	.6	1.2	.8	.0	2.2
	San Antonio	7	0	3.6	.455	.000	1.000	.4	.3	.1	.0	1.7
1984–85	Cleveland	7	0	6.9	.235	.000	.800	.6	1.0	.3	.0	2.3
Career		229	1	13.6	.435	.238	.877	1.3	1.8	.5	.1	5.0

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1978	Denver	11	8.7	.654		.714	.8	1.5	.5	.0	3.5
1979	Denver	3	8.3	.000		1.000	.7	1.3	.7	.0	.7
1982	Milwaukee	6	11.3	.385	.286	.875	1.2	2.0	.2	.0	4.8
1983	San Antonio	6	3.2	.444	.000	1.000	.8	1.0	.2	.0	1.7
Career		26	8.0	.456	.250	.842	.9	1.5	.4	.0	3.1