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.

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 was still recovering as of 2022.[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 458.4.515.875.8.9.4.12.7
1978–79 Denver 82*18.0.422.8831.82.5.7.26.4
1979–80 Utah 612.2.333–1.000.51.2.7.01.5
New Jersey 5912.5.445.308.8621.31.4.4.15.2
1980–81 Cleveland 120.0.400–1.0003.03.0.0.08.0
1981–82 Milwaukee 17118.6.473.200.833.82.6.6.16.8
1982–83 San Diego 508.6.154.000.875.61.2.8.02.2
San Antonio 703.6.455.0001.000.4.3.1.01.7
1984–85 Cleveland 706.9.235.000.800.61.0.3.02.3
Career 229113.6.435.238.8771.31.8.5.15.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1978 Denver 118.7.654.714.81.5.5.03.5
1979 Denver 38.3.0001.000.71.3.7.0.7
1982 Milwaukee 611.3.385.286.8751.22.0.2.04.8
1983 San Antonio 63.2.444.0001.000.81.0.2.01.7
Career 268.0.456.250.842.91.5.4.03.1

References

  1. 1 2 Graney, Ed (February 19, 2022). "Graney: Rebels look terrific, but day belongs to Robert Smith". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Robert Smith NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Smith_(basketball)