Biography

BIOGRAPHY

Ishmael Smith was born on July 5, 1988, in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is a point guard in the NBA.

Smith attended Central Cabarrus High School playing under Scott Brewer. He averaged 24.8 points and 9.8 assists per game as a senior and led Central Cabarrus to a 25–3 record and a MECA–6 Conference regular season and tournament title, which earned him the Meca–6 Conference Player of the Year in 2006, all-conference honors and being named Piedmont Player of the Year.

Smith played college basketball for Wake Forest, finishing second all-time for assists in school history.  He was named Second-Team All-ACC and earned Second-Team All-District honors from the NABC. Smith also received the team’s Murray Greason Award and Team Assists Leader award after finishing third in the ACC and seventh nationally in assists per game in 2009–10.

On July 6, 2022, Smith was traded, alongside Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Monté Morris and Will Barton. On October 19, 2022, Smith made his team debut. This marks his 13th NBA franchise played in his career, as well as cementing him as the only player in NBA history to have played for at least 13 NBA franchises. Smith went on to win the NBA Finals when the Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat.