Last Updated on August 12, 2026 by Mat Diekhake
Josh Smith was one of the league’s most versatile athletes during his prime, capable of blocking shots, finishing above the rim, and handling the ball in transition. His all-around skill set allowed him to impact games in multiple ways, making him a key piece of several successful Atlanta teams. Below is an overview of his personal background and professional career:
Player Profile
- Full Name: Joshua Smith
- Nationality: American
- Date of Birth: December 5, 1985
- Place of Birth: College Park, Georgia, USA
- Hometown: College Park, Georgia, USA
- Height: 6 feet 9 inches (206 cm)
- Weight: 225 pounds (102 kg)
- Wingspan: 7 feet 0 inches (213cm)
- Shoe Size: Size 17 (US)
- Jersey Number: 5
- Position: Power Forward / Small Forward
- High Schools:
- McEachern High School, Powder Springs, Georgia
- Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, Virginia
- College: Did not attend; entered NBA directly from high school
- NBA Draft: 2004, 1st round, 17th overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks
- Teams Played For:
- Atlanta Hawks (2004–2013)
- Detroit Pistons (2013–2014)
- Houston Rockets (2014–2015)
- Los Angeles Clippers (2015)
- Houston Rockets (2015–2016)
- Sichuan Blue Whales (2016)
- New Orleans Pelicans (2017)
- Championship Rings: None
- Children: Three – sons Jett and Josh, and daughter Genesis
- Siblings: Four – Phebe, Kasola, Shanti, and Walter
Player Archetype / Play Style
Josh Smith was a rangy combo forward who fit the mold of an athletic point-forward and weak-side disruptor, blending power-forward size with wing mobility at 6-foot-9 and 225 pounds. Defensively, his best work came as a roaming help defender and multi-positional stopper, using length, burst, and timing to block shots, jump passing lanes, and cover ground across both forward spots. Offensively, he was at his most effective attacking in transition, slashing off the dribble, handling from the elbows or top of the floor, and facilitating for teammates as a secondary creator rather than operating as a pure half-court scorer. Physically, he stood out for his explosiveness, long reach, and open-floor speed, which gave him the tools to impact the game above the rim and in recovery situations. The overall style was dynamic but volatile: when he stayed within his strengths, he looked like a versatile two-way playmaker who could defend everywhere, push pace, pass on the move, and fill up the stat sheet in multiple categories. (Basketball Reference)
Scouting Report
Josh Smith was one of those rare forwards who could blow up a possession without ever being the primary defender. What stands out is how much ground he covered from the weak side. He’d tag the roller, recover to the corner, rotate across the lane for a block, and somehow end the play by grabbing the rebound himself. That anticipation made him devastating in aggressive defensive schemes because he trusted his length and timing enough to erase mistakes behind the initial action. Offensively, his best work came when he stayed in motion. As a screener, short-roll passer, transition finisher or baseline cutter, he constantly put pressure on defenses that were already rotating. He also had enough ball-handling ability to push rebounds coast-to-coast and initiate offense before the defense was organized, where his passing vision became a genuine weapon. The interesting thing is that he often saw reads a step ahead, especially when help defenders collapsed toward him, slipping bounce passes to dunkers or firing kick-outs to the opposite side without overcomplicating the play. The trade-off was obvious. The more he drifted into self-created perimeter jumpers early in possessions, the further he moved away from everything that made him special. Defenders were usually happier watching him settle than dealing with his downhill attacks, rim pressure and playmaking on the move. This is why his ideal role is as a secondary creator and defensive rover rather than a primary scorer. Put him next to a point guard who consistently bends the defense and a floor-spacing center who opens driving lanes, and his combination of transition play, weak-side cuts, short-roll decision-making and defensive chaos becomes much more impactful. To me, his game sits somewhere between Andrei Kirilenko and Shawn Marion. Like Kirilenko, he could completely alter possessions with rotations and blocks that never appeared to be available, while Marion shared the same ability to generate offense through activity instead of isolation. Smith’s ceiling always lived in those moments where he let the game come to him rather than trying to force it, because few forwards could influence so many different areas of a game simply by reading the floor a fraction quicker than everyone else. — Mat Diekhake, HeatingUp
Sources: Josh Smith Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft — Basketball-Reference; Josh Smith | Forward — NBA.com; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Josh Smith — Bleacher Report