# Charles Smith (basketball, born 1965)

Charles Daniel Smith (born July 16, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1988 to 1998. He was an All-American college player for the Pittsburgh Panthers. He led the 1986 World Games USA Team in scoring to win the Gold Medal and Olympic bronze medal as a member of the United States national team in 1988.

## College career

As a college player, Smith was named Big East Player of the Year in 1988. He was a member of the University of Pittsburgh's highly touted five-man recruiting class considered the country's best. Along with power forward Jerome Lane, Smith and the Pitt Basketball Team became a major force in college basketball, opening the 1987–88 season ranked No. 4 nationally and rising as high as No. 2. during Smith's tenure.
He played and led the US national team in scoring during the 1986 FIBA World Championship, where he won the gold medal, and at the 1988 Olympics, where he finished with a bronze.

## NBA career

After his college career, the 6'10", 245 lb. power forward was selected third overall in the 1988 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers but immediately traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. He made the 1988 NBA All-Rookie Team by averaging 16 points and 8 rebounds. During his four years with the Clippers he was the team's top scorer averaging 19 points per game. He was later traded to the New York Knicks with Doc Rivers and Bo Kimble for point guard Mark Jackson. Coach Riley moved Smith from Poward Forward to Small Forward to fill the hole left by Xavier McDaniel after the Knicks failed to re-sign him after their successful 1991–92 season. Smith's knees became problematic playing small forward around this time. As Smith's stats declined, he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for J. R. Reid before retiring in 1998.

## Post-retirement

Smith is a Resource Board Member of Family Office Association developing global partnerships. Prior, he was Head of Sports & Entertainment MediaCom and Head of New Business for Midas Exchange, both owned by WPP/GroupM.
After retiring from the NBA, Smith served as Team Representative for the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and then as First Vice President. Smith helped create the NBPA Foundation, a non-profit to support retired players in need. Smith went on to serve as Executive Director of the National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA). Smith produced and executed exhibition games featuring over 40 retired NBA players.
Smith was founder and CEO of New Media Technology Corp. The company was the first to develop and patent customizable applications for video ingestion in 1998.
Today, Charles D. Smith founded a construction company in Africa to develop sports and entertainment communities similar to LA Live in Los Angeles and Deer Park in Milwaukee.

## NBA career statistics
### Regular season

| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 1988–89 | L.A. Clippers | 71 | 56 | 30.4 | .495 | .000 | .725 | 6.5 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 16.3 |
| 1989–90 | L.A. Clippers | 78 | 76 | 35.0 | .520 | .083 | .794 | 6.7 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 21.1 |
| 1990–91 | L.A. Clippers | 74 | 74 | 36.5 | .469 | .000 | .793 | 8.2 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 20.0 |
| 1991–92 | L.A. Clippers | 49 | 25 | 26.7 | .466 | .000 | .785 | 6.1 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 14.6 |
| 1992–93 | New York | 81 | 68 | 26.8 | .469 | .000 | .782 | 5.3 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 12.4 |
| 1993–94 | New York | 43 | 21 | 25.7 | .443 | .500 | .719 | 3.8 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 10.4 |
| 1994–95 | New York | 76 | 58 | 28.3 | .471 | .226 | .792 | 4.3 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 12.7 |
| 1995–96 | New York | 41 | 4 | 21.7 | .388 | .133 | .709 | 3.9 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 7.4 |
| 1995–96 | San Antonio | 32 | 30 | 25.8 | .458 | – | .767 | 6.3 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 9.6 |
| 1996–97 | San Antonio | 19 | 7 | 17.3 | .405 | .000 | .769 | 3.4 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 4.6 |
| Career | Career | 564 | 419 | 29.0 | .475 | .194 | .774 | 5.8 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 14.4 |

### Playoffs

| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 1992 | L.A. Clippers | 5 | 5 | 29.6 | .393 | – | .933 | 5.6 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 11.6 |
| 1993 | New York | 15 | 15 | 25.9 | .471 | – | .740 | 4.0 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 11.1 |
| 1994 | New York | 25 | 18 | 24.5 | .480 | .000 | .729 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 8.8 |
| 1995 | New York | 11 | 11 | 27.5 | .537 | .000 | .567 | 3.8 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 10.8 |
| 1996 | San Antonio | 10 | 8 | 16.5 | .500 | – | .375 | 3.7 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 5.1 |
| Career | Career | 66 | 57 | 24.5 | .481 | .000 | .705 | 4.0 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 9.3 |