Honestly, if you were around for the mid-2000s NBA, you remember "J-Smoove." He was this terrifyingly athletic whirlwind who could pin a layup against the glass on one end and then tear the rim down on the other. But when you look at the Josh Smith NBA stats, you aren't just looking at a list of numbers. You’re looking at one of the most polarizing careers in the history of the league. He was a 6-foot-9 forward who played like a guard trapped in a defensive end's body, and his stat sheet reflected every bit of that chaotic brilliance.
People forget how young he was when he started. Coming straight out of Oak Hill Academy as the 17th pick in 2004, Smith didn't just walk into the league; he flew into it. He became the youngest player to ever reach 1,000 career blocks, a record he grabbed at just 24 years old. That’s faster than Dwight Howard or Shaquille O'Neal.
The Atlanta Years: A Defensive Juggernaut
During his nine seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, Smith was the engine of a team that made six straight playoff appearances. His averages during that stretch were legitimately elite: 15.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.1 blocks per game. Think about those numbers for a second. There aren't many players who can give you 15, 8, and 3 while also being one of the best rim protectors in the game from the small forward or power forward spot.
In the 2009-10 season, Smith hit his absolute peak. He averaged 15.7 points and a career-high 8.7 rebounds, all while shooting over 50% from the field. That was the key. When Smith stayed inside and used his athleticism to finish at the rim, he was unstoppable. He finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting that year and made the All-Defensive Second Team. He was basically a human eraser.
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But there was always a "but."
The weird thing about the Josh Smith NBA stats is the shooting splits. Smith loved the three-pointer, but the three-pointer didn't love him back. He shot 28.5% from deep for his career. In Atlanta, fans would literally scream "No!" the moment he lined up for a long-range jumper. It was a strange paradox: a guy who was so efficient at the rim but so determined to shoot from the perimeter.
The Detroit Decline and the Rockets Redemption
When Smith signed that massive 4-year, $54 million contract with the Detroit Pistons in 2013, everything changed. The fit was... well, it was clunky. He was playing next to Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe, which forced him to play on the perimeter even more. His shooting percentages cratered. In Detroit, he shot a painful 41.3% from the field and 24.3% from three.
It got so bad that the Pistons eventually just paid him to leave. They waived him via the stretch provision in December 2014, and honestly, it felt like the end of an era.
But then came Houston.
Joining the Rockets was probably the most "Josh Smith" thing ever. He went from being a "toxic" asset in Detroit to a playoff hero in Houston. In the 2015 Western Conference Semifinals against the Clippers, Smith went nuclear in Game 6. He scored 19 points, hitting 4-of-7 from three-point range in a comeback for the ages. It was the ultimate "I told you I could shoot" moment, even if the stats over 894 career games suggested otherwise.
Breaking Down the Career Averages
If you're just looking at the raw totals, Smith's career is statistically impressive:
- Total Points: 12,944 (14.5 per game)
- Total Rebounds: 6,594 (7.4 per game)
- Total Blocks: 1,713 (1.9 per game)
- Total Assists: 2,787 (3.1 per game)
He is one of only a handful of players in NBA history to record 10,000 points, 5,000 rebounds, 2,000 assists, 1,000 blocks, and 1,000 steals. That is a Hall of Fame-level stat line. Yet, he never made an All-Star team. Not once. It’s one of the great snubs of the 2010s, though many would argue his shot selection was what ultimately kept him off the roster.
The Modern Lens: Was He Ahead of His Time?
There is a growing school of thought that Josh Smith was actually a decade too early. Imagine him in the 2026 NBA. He’d be a "small-ball" center. He’d be encouraged to switch everything on defense and handle the ball in transition.
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His passing was always underrated. Averaging nearly 4 assists per game as a forward in 2012 was a big deal. In a modern system like the Golden State Warriors or the current OKC Thunder, he would’ve been a playmaking hub.
However, his free-throw shooting was a constant struggle. He shot a career-low 51.7% from the line in the 2012-13 season. For a guy who lived at the rim, that was a massive liability. It made him a target for "Hack-a-Josh" strategies in late-game situations.
Lessons from the Stat Sheet
When you dive into the Josh Smith NBA stats, you see a player who lived on the edge of greatness and frustration. He wasn't a "bust" by any stretch—he played 13 seasons and earned over $100 million. But he remains a cautionary tale about role-definition and the importance of playing to your strengths.
If you’re analyzing his career for a fantasy league or just a backyard debate, look beyond the 28% three-point shooting. Look at the 1.9 blocks. Look at the 5x5 games (he’s one of the few players to ever record at least 5 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals, and 5 blocks in a single game).
How to evaluate Josh Smith's legacy today:
- Prioritize Defensive Versatility: Smith’s ability to guard three positions and protect the rim is exactly what teams pay $30 million a year for now.
- Contextualize the Shooting: His Detroit numbers are an outlier caused by poor roster construction; his Atlanta years are a better representation of his actual value.
- Appreciate the "Stock" Stats: High steal and block totals (stocks) are rare for forwards, making his defensive impact historically significant.
Next time someone brings up Josh Smith just to joke about his missed threes, remind them that at age 24, he was doing things on the defensive end that only legends like Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson had done before. The numbers tell a story of a freak athlete who was sometimes his own worst enemy, but always a force to be reckoned with.