Player profile · ATL / CHA / MIA / NOH / POR / SAS

Steve Smith

Steve Smith stats, teams and career impact

#856 all-timeCareer averages · 14.3 PPG · 3.2 RPG · 3.1 APGPeak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded

Position: Shooting guard
Teams in final NBA season: Charlotte Bobcats and Miami Heat
Height / weight: 6 ft 8 in (203 cm) · 200 lb (91 kg)
Born: March 31, 1969 (57 yrs old)
College: Michigan State
NBA seasons: 14 seasons · 1991–92 to 2004–05

Career or season view

Career summarySteve Smith was a shooting guard who played 14 NBA seasons, from 1991–92 through 2004–05.

Career PPG: 14.3
Career RPG: 3.2
Career APG: 3.1; #43 in 1998–99; #856 all-time

Peak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded

Career overview

Why Steve Smith ranks #856 all time

Steve Smith ranks #856 all time. Across his three best seasons, his average league finish was #47.0. His full-career value ranks #267, so longevity is a major reason he lands this high.

Peak#43 in 1998–99

Best league finish

Sustained excellence14 ranked seasons

450+ minutes required per season

Career breadth14 seasons

942 games · Career Value Rank #267

NBA honorsAll-StarContext only; honors are not model inputs.

Full player detailsTeam history, career shooting and sources

Full team history

Teams: Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, New Orleans Hornets, and Charlotte Bobcats
Greatest Hawks →Greatest Hornets →Greatest Heat →Greatest Pelicans →Greatest Trail Blazers →Greatest Spurs →

Career shooting

NBA regular season

Field goal: 44.0%FG%
Three-point: 35.8%3P%
Free throw: 84.5%FT%

942 career games · 28,855 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

Steve 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.

Swipe for PPG · RPG · APG · Impact · Team · G · GS · MPG →


2004–05	6.3	1.3	1.4	+0.47	CHA/MIA	50	1	15.0	41.1%	39.0%	86.3%	#114	35.5
2003–04	5.0	1.1	0.8	-1.61	NOH	71	4	13.1	40.6%	40.2%	92.8%	#209	6.8
2002–03	6.8	1.9	1.3	-1.55	SAS	53	18	19.5	38.8%	33.1%	83.3%	#204	8.8
2001–02	11.6	2.5	2.0	-0.23	SAS	77	76	28.7	45.5%	47.2%	87.8%	#140	73.2
2000–01	13.6	3.4	2.6	+0.22	POR	81	36	31.4	45.6%	33.9%	89.0%	#105	104.7
1999–00	14.9	3.8	2.5	+1.76	POR	82	81	32.8	46.7%	39.8%	85.0%	#54	189.6
1998–99	18.7	4.2	3.3	+2.46	ATL	36	36	36.5	40.2%	33.8%	84.9%	#43	104.0
1997–98	20.1	4.2	4.0	+1.88	ATL	73	73	39.1	44.4%	35.1%	85.5%	#62	202.3
1996–97	20.1	3.3	4.2	+1.29	ATL	72	72	39.1	42.9%	33.5%	84.7%	#74	167.7
1995–96	18.1	4.1	2.8	+0.90	ATL	80	80	35.7	43.2%	33.1%	82.6%	#88	154.7
1994–95	16.3	3.5	3.4	+2.02	ATL/MIA	80	61	33.3	42.6%	32.9%	84.1%	#46	200.8
1993–94	17.3	4.5	5.1	+1.48	MIA	78	77	35.6	45.6%	34.7%	83.5%	#52	188.6
1992–93	16.0	4.1	5.6	+0.75	MIA	48	43	33.5	45.1%	40.2%	78.7%	#83	87.2
1991–92	12.0	3.1	4.6	-1.85	MIA	61	59	29.6	45.4%	32.0%	74.8%	#199	5.3
Career	14.3	3.2	3.1	—	ATL/CHA/MIA/NOH/POR/SAS	942	—	30.6	44.0%	35.8%	84.5%	—	—

Source: Basketball Reference regular-season totals, accessed Sep 13, 2026.

What these measures mean

Era-centered box impact: Estimated points per 100 possessions above that season's league average.
Impact Rate Rank: The player's place among qualified players in one season.
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.

Career Impact Rank#856

56.8 composite · lower is better

Best 5#775

51.4 average league finish

Career Value Rank#267

1,529 total value

Career standing

How Steve Smith ranks all time

These are league placements, not raw scores. Each season is judged against that season's qualified player pool.

Number-one seasons0

Best in the league

Top-five seasons0

Elite finishes

Top-ten seasons0

Upper-tier finishes

Top-10 Impact Margin0.0

Tie-breaker across top-ten seasons

Career Composite Score56.8

Equal average of Best 3, Best 5, and Best 10 league finishes. The overlapping windows make this explicitly peak-weighted. Lower is better.

Best 3 weight: 63.3%
Score: 56.8
Qualified seasons: 14
All-time rank: #856

Strongest seasons

Every season

Steve 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


2004–05Historical Defense Estimate	CHA/MIA	35	50	750	+0.47	67.1	#114	35.5	51st	Standard
2003–04Historical Defense Estimate	NOH	34	71	929	-1.61	37.2	#209	6.8	37th	Standard
2002–03Historical Defense Estimate	SAS	33	53	1,032	-1.55	36.2	#204	8.8	35th	Broad
2001–02Historical Defense Estimate	SAS	32	77	2,211	-0.23	57.0	#140	73.2	64th	Broad
2000–01Historical Defense Estimate	POR	31	81	2,542	+0.22	68.2	#105	104.7	75th	Broad
1999–00Historical Defense Estimate	POR	30	82	2,689	+1.76	83.4	#54	189.6	87th	Broad
1998–99Historical Defense Estimate	ATL	29	36	1,314	+2.46	84.8	#43	104.0	82nd	Broad
1997–98Historical Defense Estimate	ATL	28	73	2,857	+1.88	80.8	#62	202.3	88th	Broad
1996–97Historical Defense Estimate	ATL	27	72	2,818	+1.29	76.9	#74	167.7	82nd	Broad
1995–96Historical Defense Estimate	ATL	26	80	2,856	+0.90	73.2	#88	154.7	80th	Broad
1994–95Historical Defense Estimate	ATL/MIA	25	80	2,665	+2.02	85.4	#46	200.8	88th	Broad
1993–94Historical Defense Estimate	MIA	24	78	2,776	+1.48	82.5	#52	188.6	86th	Broad
1992–93Historical Defense Estimate	MIA	23	48	1,610	+0.75	72.2	#83	87.2	68th	Broad
1991–92Historical Defense Estimate	MIA	22	61	1,806	-1.85	31.5	#199	5.3	33rd	Broad

Career movement

Steve Smith's career impact by season

Peak +2.46 in 1998–99 · 14 seasons · 28,855 minutes

The same historical box-score model is used for every season, making the career shape comparable through time. The vertical scale adapts to this player's range and always includes zero.

Era-centered box impactMinutes

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.

Compare with a similar careerOpen full comparison →

Steve SmithDanny Ainge

Era-centered box impactEstimated points per 100 possessions above that season's league average · dashed marker means the player did not play

Steve Smith and Danny Ainge era-centered impact values by NBA season number
NBA season	Steve Smith	Danny Ainge
1	-1.9	-3.3
2	0.7	-0.2
3	1.5	-2.6
4	2.0	0.3
5	0.9	0.4
6	1.3	0.7
7	1.9	1.3
8	2.5	2.5
9	1.8	1.6
10	0.2	2.6
11	-0.2	1.4
12	-1.5	0.6
13	-1.6	-1.6
14	0.5	-0.1

NBA season number

Similar career arcs

Players with careers similar to Steve 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.

SG · All-Time Career #642

Danny Ainge

career similarity score

92/100 closest-season score · 1998–99 ↔ 1990–91 SG · All-Time Career #634

Dan Majerle

career similarity score

91/100 closest-season score · 1998–99 ↔ 1996–97 SG · All-Time Career #941

Byron Scott

career similarity score

89/100 closest-season score · 1998–99 ↔ 1993–94

How to read this page

Impact 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 →