BIOGRAPHY
Dennis Smith Jr. was born on November 25, 1997 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He is a point guard in the NBA.
Smith Jr. began his career playing prep sports at Trinity Christian School in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He would play varsity basketball all four years at the school. In his sophomore season, Smith Jr. and Trinity Christian would win the 2014 NCISAA 1-A State Championship. Smith would be named MVP and averaged 17.6 points, 9.3 assists, 6.9 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game. In his junior season, Smith Jr. averaged 22.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 7.1 assists as well as 3.0 steals per game. He was named the Gatorade Basketball Player of the Year for the state of North Carolina. Prior to his senior year, Smith would tear his ACL and missed his final year at Trinity Christian.
Even with the injury, Smith Jr. was considered a five-star recruit and committed to play collegiate basketball at the North Carolina State University. Battling back from injury, Smith Jr. recorded a triple-double (27 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists) in a win against the Virginia Tech Hokies, which was only the second in the school history. On January 23, 2017, Smith scored another career high 32 points and had 6 assists in an 84–82 victory against the University of Duke, leading NC State to its first win at Duke since 1995. Smith Jr was named ACC Rookie of the Year in addition to be honored as Second Team All-ACC and ACC All-Freshman team. In his lone year at NC State, Smith Jr averaged 18.1 points, 6.2 assist, and 1.9 steals.
Entering into the 2017 NBA Draft, in the first round with the ninth overall pick, Smith Jr. was selected by the Dallas Mavericks. In the season opener, Smith Jr recorded 16 points and 10 assists in a lost against the Atlanta Hawks. December 29, 2017, he recorded his first career triple-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 128–120 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. This was a historic event as Smith Jr would become the fifth-youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double. Following a rookie season where Smith Jr averaged 15.2 point, 3.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
In his second season with the Mavericks, Smith Jr was traded to the New York Knicks with fellow teammates DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews and two future first round draft picks for Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr, Trey Burke, and Courtney Lee.
On February 8, 2021, Smith was traded to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Derrick Rose.
Smith is good friends with fellow Fayetteville native rapper and songwriter J. Cole.
