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Player profile · ATL / DET / HOU / LAC / NOP
Josh Smith
Josh Smith stats, teams and career impact
#178 all-timeCareer averages · 14.5 PPG · 7.4 RPG · 3.1 APGPeak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
- Position
- Power forward
- Final NBA team
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Height / weight
- 6 ft 9 in (206 cm) · 225 lb (102 kg)
- Born
- December 5, 1985 (40 yrs old)
- NBA seasons
- 13 seasons · 2004–05 to 2017–18
Career summaryJosh Smith was a power forward who played 13 NBA seasons, from 2004–05 through 2017–18.
- Career PPG
- 14.5
- Career RPG
- 7.4
- Career APG
- 3.1
- #7 in 2009–10
- #178 all-time
Best-Season Impact Rank
Career Impact Rank
Peak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
Career overview
Why Josh Smith ranks #178 all time
Josh Smith ranks #178 all time. Across his three best seasons, his average league finish was #13.3. His full-career value ranks #142, so longevity is a major reason he lands this high.
450+ minutes required per season
894 games · Career Value Rank #142
NBA honorsAll-DefenseContext only; honors are not model inputs.
Head to head
Compare Josh Smith with…
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Full player detailsTeam history, career shooting and sources
Full team history
- Teams
- Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, and New Orleans Pelicans
Career shooting
NBA regular season- Field goal
- 45.2%FG%
- Three-point
- 28.5%3P%
- Free throw
- 63.2%FT%
894 career games · 29,000 minutes
Sources and updateConventional stats and measurements: Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 13, 2026. hussEyquation ranking data through 2025–26. Life dates: Wikidata; conflicting dates checked against Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 17, 2026.
Traditional box score
Josh Smith stats by season
Start with scoring and impact, then switch views for shooting or the full advanced picture. Career percentages use total makes and attempts.
Box impact is an estimate in points per 100 possessions, not the 0–100 Impact Rate score. Zero is league average; higher is better. Rate rank is a league place: No. 1 is best.
Swipe for PPG · RPG · APG · Box impact · Team · G · GS · MPG →
| pts/100 · higher is better | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 0.0 | -12.73 | NOP | 3 | 0 | 4.0 | 25.0% | — | — | — | -2.7 |
| 2015–16 | 6.0 | 3.5 | 1.6 | -2.76 | HOU/LAC | 55 | 7 | 16.0 | 36.4% | 28.7% | 55.2% | #310 | -13.4 |
| 2014–15 | 12.4 | 6.4 | 3.3 | +0.62 | DET/HOU | 83 | 35 | 27.7 | 41.9% | 31.6% | 49.8% | #111 | 119.3 |
| 2013–14 | 16.4 | 6.8 | 3.3 | +0.12 | DET | 77 | 76 | 35.5 | 41.9% | 26.4% | 53.2% | #131 | 114.3 |
| 2012–13 | 17.5 | 8.4 | 4.2 | +2.46 | ATL | 76 | 76 | 35.3 | 46.5% | 30.3% | 51.7% | #48 | 230.6 |
| 2011–12 | 18.8 | 9.6 | 3.9 | +4.40 | ATL | 66 | 66 | 35.3 | 45.8% | 25.7% | 63.0% | #12 | 280.1 |
| 2010–11 | 16.5 | 8.5 | 3.3 | +3.52 | ATL | 77 | 77 | 34.4 | 47.7% | 33.1% | 72.5% | #21 | 271.7 |
| 2009–10 | 15.7 | 8.7 | 4.2 | +5.00 | ATL | 81 | 81 | 35.4 | 50.5% | 0.0% | 61.8% | #7 | 377.2 |
| 2008–09 | 15.6 | 7.2 | 2.4 | +1.63 | ATL | 69 | 69 | 35.1 | 49.2% | 29.9% | 58.8% | #56 | 163.8 |
| 2007–08 | 17.2 | 8.2 | 3.4 | +3.30 | ATL | 81 | 81 | 35.5 | 45.7% | 25.3% | 71.0% | #27 | 289.2 |
| 2006–07 | 16.4 | 8.6 | 3.3 | +3.13 | ATL | 72 | 72 | 36.8 | 43.9% | 25.0% | 69.3% | #30 | 254.8 |
| 2005–06 | 11.3 | 6.6 | 2.4 | +0.51 | ATL | 80 | 73 | 32.0 | 42.5% | 30.9% | 71.9% | #93 | 121.1 |
| 2004–05 | 9.7 | 6.2 | 1.7 | +0.65 | ATL | 74 | 59 | 27.7 | 45.5% | 17.4% | 68.8% | #105 | 103.4 |
| Career | 14.5 | 7.4 | 3.1 | — | ATL/DET/HOU/LAC/NOP | 894 | — | 32.4 | 45.2% | 28.5% | 63.2% | — | — |
Source: Basketball Reference regular-season totals, accessed Sep 13, 2026.
Film evidence
Josh Smith highlights
Watch the selected footage or film analysis, then use the season record and impact data to put what happened on the floor in context.
Career highlights
Josh Smith's top 10 career plays
Josh Smith's career highlights adds visual context to the numbers on this page, especially his transition athleticism, weak-side blocks and explosive finishing. The vetted footage complements the season tables and impact model.
What these measures mean
- Box impact
- Estimated points per 100 possessions above that season's league average, from the historical box-score model. Zero is league average; higher is better. Historical defense estimates are included where labeled. This is not the live model's lineup-adjusted estimate.
- Impact Rate
- A 0–100 score comparing performance within one season. Higher is better. This is a score, not points per possession.
- Impact estimate
- The season model's final estimated points per 100 possessions above league average, before conversion to the 0–100 Impact Rate score. It includes lineup evidence where available. Zero is league average; higher is better.
- Impact Rate rank
- The player's place among qualified players in that season's Impact Rate ranking. No. 1 is best. This is a rank, not an impact score.
- Value contribution / Season Value
- Completed seasons use a fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. The live season instead uses Season Value, combining that season's impact with workload.
- Career Impact Rank
- An all-time rank weighted toward the player's best three, five, and ten seasons.
22.7 composite · lower is better
19.4 average league finish
2,309 total value
- Impact Rate
- 0–100 score within one season. Higher is better.
- Box impact
- Estimated points per 100 possessions above league average, from the historical model. Zero is average; higher is better.
Career standing
How Josh Smith ranks all time
These are league placements, not raw scores. Each season is judged against that season's qualified player pool.
Best in the league
Elite finishes
Upper-tier finishes
Tie-breaker across top-ten seasons
Career Composite Score22.7
Best 3, Best 5, and Best 10 average league finishes receive 50%, 30%, and 20% window weights. Missing seasons receive a replacement finish just below the player's typical qualified field. Lower is better.
- Best 3 effective weight
- 74%
- Missing-season finish
- 345.0
- Qualified seasons
- 12
- All-time rank
- #178
Strongest seasons
Every season
Josh Smith advanced stats by season
Era-centered box impact supports comparisons through time. Impact Rate and its rank compare players only within that season.
More advanced statsAge, minutes, impact, rank, value and data coverage
Scroll for more columns
| pts/100 · higher is better | 0–100 · higher is better | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18Historical Defense Estimate | NOP | 32 | 3 | 12 | -12.73 | — | — | -2.7 | — | Limited |
| 2015–16Historical Defense Estimate | HOU/LAC | 30 | 55 | 880 | -2.76 | 14.9 | #310 | -13.4 | 17th | Standard |
| 2014–15Historical Defense Estimate | DET/HOU | 29 | 83 | 2,300 | +0.62 | 70.3 | #111 | 119.3 | 79th | Broad |
| 2013–14Historical Defense Estimate | DET | 28 | 77 | 2,730 | +0.12 | 62.3 | #131 | 114.3 | 77th | Broad |
| 2012–13Historical Defense Estimate | ATL | 27 | 76 | 2,683 | +2.46 | 86.6 | #48 | 230.6 | 93rd | Broad |
| 2011–12Historical Defense Estimate | ATL | 26 | 66 | 2,329 | +4.40 | 96.8 | #12 | 280.1 | 98th | Broad |
| 2010–11Historical Defense Estimate | ATL | 25 | 77 | 2,645 | +3.52 | 94.3 | #21 | 271.7 | 95th | Broad |
| 2009–10Historical Defense Estimate | ATL | 24 | 81 | 2,871 | +5.00 | 98.2 | #7 | 377.2 | 99th | Broad |
| 2008–09Historical Defense Estimate | ATL | 23 | 69 | 2,421 | +1.63 | 83.5 | #56 | 163.8 | 86th | Broad |
| 2007–08Historical Defense Estimate | ATL | 22 | 81 | 2,873 | +3.30 | 92.1 | #27 | 289.2 | 95th | Broad |
| 2006–07Historical Defense Estimate | ATL | 21 | 72 | 2,647 | +3.13 | 91.3 | #30 | 254.8 | 92nd | Broad |
| 2005–06Historical Defense Estimate | ATL | 20 | 80 | 2,559 | +0.51 | 72.0 | #93 | 121.1 | 78th | Broad |
| 2004–05Historical Defense Estimate | ATL | 19 | 74 | 2,050 | +0.65 | 69.7 | #105 | 103.4 | 74th | Broad |
Career movement
Josh Smith's box impact by season
Peak box impact +5.00 points per 100 possessions in 2009–10 · 13 seasons · 29,000 minutes
Box impact estimates points per 100 possessions above each season's league average. Zero is average; higher is better. Rank labels show Impact Rate league places, not ranks on this chart's box-impact scale.
Box impact · points per 100 possessionsMinutes
—’17
Player-specific impact scaleWorkload
Career comparison
Compare the shape, not the calendar
Align by NBA experience to compare season one with season one, or by age to compare players at the same stage of life.
Josh SmithArtis Gilmore
| NBA season | Josh Smith | Artis Gilmore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.6 | 4.6 |
| 2 | 0.5 | 3.8 |
| 3 | 3.1 | 3.9 |
| 4 | 3.3 | 2.4 |
| 5 | 1.6 | 3.4 |
| 6 | 5.0 | 3.9 |
| 7 | 3.5 | 2.4 |
| 8 | 4.4 | 1.2 |
| 9 | 2.5 | 1.9 |
| 10 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| 11 | 0.6 | -0.1 |
| 12 | -2.8 | -5.2 |
| 13 | -12.7 | Did not play |
NBA season number
Similar career arcs
Players with careers similar to Josh Smith
The career-similarity score compares era-centered box impact, peak, prime, workload, career length, position, and experience-aligned trajectory. It describes career shape, not playing style, equal ability, or probability.
C · All-Time Career #87
Artis Gilmore
91career similarity score
90/100 closest-season score · 2009–10 ↔ 1976–77PF · All-Time Career #157Kevin McHale
90career similarity score
87/100 closest-season score · 2009–10 ↔ 1985–86PF · All-Time Career #19Dolph Schayes
89career similarity score
92/100 closest-season score · 2009–10 ↔ 1952–53Impact Rate shows how strong a player was compared with everyone else that season. Season Value adds how much he played; completed player-profile rows instead show each season's fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. Career Impact Rank rewards a high peak, a long prime, and repeated seasons near the top. Older seasons use clearly labeled estimates where the NBA did not record today's full set of statistics. Read how every ranking works →