It’s always awesome to see an NBA player be able to carve out a lengthy career despite not being drafted. It is even remarkable when that player continues to go through the grind as they are bouncing from team to team, never staying in one place for all that long.
Ish Smith, who played collegiately for Wake Forest, has played 14 seasons in the NBA. He also never spent more than three seasons with the same team. The six-foot point guard certainly was never an All-Star level talent. He still often was part of his team’s rotation, and had six seasons averaging at least 20 minutes per contest.
It seems that Smith, the NBA’s ultimate vagabond, has moved on to a new role in the NBA after nearly a decade and a half as a player.
NBA’s Ultimate Vagabond Hired To Become A Scout For Wizards
Joining One Of His (Many) Former Teams From His Playing Days
Now 36 years old, Smith appeared in 43 games for the Charlotte Hornets last season. He was waived by Charlotte in early February. Smith did not get added by another club for the remainder of the season and remained unsigned this offseason. While Smith has never officially announced his retirement, it seems that may be the route he is going. He will still be employed in the NBA though. According to Josh Robbins of The Athletic, Smith is heading to the Washington Wizards to be a pro scout for the team.
The Washington Wizards have hired former NBA point guard Ish Smith as a pro scout, team officials said. Smith, who had two stints with the Wizards, played for an NBA-record 13 different teams.
— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) October 2, 2024
Smith previously had two different playing stints for the Wizards. He played two seasons for Washington in 2019-20 and 2020-21. Smith started the 2021-22 season with Charlotte but was traded back to the Wizards later in the season.
Smith’s Journey Throughout NBA Gave Him An NBA Record
Two teams have already been mentioned that Smith has played for in the Hornets and Wizards. That’s not even one-sixth of the NBA teams that he was a member of during his career. Altogether, Smith played for 13 teams, the most in NBA history. That is one more than Chucky Brown, Jim Jackson, Tony Massenburg, Joe Smith, and Garrett Temple (still active), as they each played for 12 apiece.
The 11 other teams that Smith donned the jersey of are the Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors, Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers, New Orleans Pelicans, Detroit Pistons, and Denver Nuggets. Had he played for two more organizations, Smith could have said that he played for half the league. According to Basketball Reference, Smith has been teammates with 239 other players. The five players that Smith played with most often are Andre Drummond, Reggie Jackson, Stanley Johnson, Marcus Morris, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Altogether, Smith appeared in 805 regular season games (172 starts). He posted career averages of 7.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. He played his most games with Detroit (219) and his least with Golden State (six). Smith averaged double figures in scoring three times with a career-high of 12.6 coming in 2015-16 (split between New Orleans and Philadelphia). While not possessing a large role in 2021-22, Smith won a championship ring with the Nuggets in 2022.
