Elmore Smith

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Elmore Smith (born May 9, 1949 in Macon, Georgia) is a retired American basketball player. A 7'0" center from Kentucky State University, he played for in the National Basketball Association from 1971 to 1979. He was a member of the Buffalo Braves, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Cleveland Cavaliers.

In his first season, Smith averaged 17.3 points per game and 15.2 rebounds per game and was named to the NBA's All-Rookie Team. His rebounding average of 15.2 is still the eighth highest ever by an NBA rookie.

Smith is best remembered for his shot-blocking. He led the league in total blocked shots twice (in 1974 and 1975), and holds the NBA record for most blocked shots in a game, with 17 [1]. He achieved this mark against the Portland Trail Blazers on October 28, 1973, while playing for the Lakers. Smith's 4.85 blocks per game from the 1973-74 season (the first season blocked shots were officially recorded in the NBA) is the third highest ever. He was also a skilled rebounder, and he averaged a double-double (13.4 points, 10.6 rebounds) over the course of his career.

[edit] Statistics

SEASON	TEAM	GP	MPG	SPG	BPG	RPG	APG	PPG
'71-72	BUF	78	40.8			15.2	1.4	17.3
'72-73	BUF	76	37.2			12.4	2.5	18.3
'73-74	LAL	81	36.1	0.9	4.9	11.2	1.9	12.5
'74-75	LAL	74	31.6	1.1	2.9	10.9	2.0	10.9
'75-76	MIL	78	36.0	1.0	3.1	11.4	1.2	15.6
'76-77	CLE	70	20.9	0.5	2.1	6.3	0.6	8.6
'77-78	CLE	81	24.6	0.6	2.2	8.4	0.7	12.5
'78-79	CLE	24	13.8	0.3	0.7	4.4	0.5	6.5

During Smith's first two seasons, blocks and steals were not an officially recorded statistic.

[edit] Trivia

Smith was one of four players the Lakers traded to Milwaukee (the other three are Brian Winters and draft picks Junior Bridgeman and Dave Meyers) for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar after the 1974-75 NBA season.
He still holds the Clippers franchise record for rebounds per game (13.8).