Baller Bio: Leon Smith

Leon Smith played only 15 games over the course of 2 seasons in the NBA. For a first-round draft pick out of high school, he never lived up to the expectations. Let's take a look at the 6-10 power forward's life and basketball career:

Leon Smith was born on November 2, 1980 in Chicago, Illinois. He had a troubled childhood and was raised in Lydia's Children's Home, a foster home in Chicago, because of alleged neglect from his parents. Later, in his teenage years, he moved to the Sullivan House.

Smith blossomed into a young star at Martin Luther King High School and averaged 25.5 points and 14.5 rebounds as a senior. He applied for the 1999 NBA Draft and was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the 29th pick. He was then traded to the Dallas Mavericks shortly after he was selected in exchange for the draft rights for Gordan Giricek and a 2000 second-round draft pick.

After forcing the team to sign him to a three-year 1.447 million dollar contract because of league rules and his refusal to play in a developmental league or overseas, his career quickly went downhill because of a series of negative incidents. In his first practice with the Mavs, Smith refused to run a set of sprints and started to build up a reputation of being immature and having problems with authority.

Before ever playing in an NBA game, Smith was placed in a psychiatric ward in November 1999 after reportedly throwing a rock through a car window and then swallowing around 250 aspirin tablets in an admitted suicide attempt.

After returning to Chicago in December, he allegedly threatened an ex-girlfriend with a gun. Then, a few hours after the incident, he was accused of ramming a car that belonged to the ex-girlfriend's mother and smashing out the windows. He was then charged with two counts of criminal damage. The Mavericks suspended Smith indefinitely because of the off-court troubles.

Smith was eventually released by the Mavs in January 2000 and went on to play for a series of minor-league teams. He joined the St. Louis Swarm of the IBL in 2000 but was released in December of the same year. He then signed with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the CBA in 2001 and was traded to the Gary Steelheads later that season.

Smith was given a chance for a comeback when the Atlanta Hawks signed him to a 10-day contract in January 2002. He made his NBA debut on January 17 and was released in February before returning to the team in March. He saw his first ever NBA action with the Hawks that season and ended up averaging 2.2 points and 2.2 rebounds over the course of 14 games.

On August 2, 2002, he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks along with Toni Kukoc and a 2003 1st round pick for Glenn Robinson and was waived by the team in October.

In that same month, he returned to the Gary Steelheads of the CBA and ended up joining a team in Puerto Rico (Criollos de Caguas) in April 2003. His stint overseas ended in that same month when the team released him.

In May 2003, he signed with the Texas Rim Rockers of the USBL before returning to the Gary Steelheads of the CBA for the second time. In February 2004, the team traded him to the Great Lakes Storm.

In April of 2004, the Seattle SuperSonics gave Smith another chance in the NBA and signed him to a contract. However, he ended up only playing in one game with the team. In that game, a loss to the Spurs, he scored 2 points and grabbed 2 rebounds in 4 minutes. The Sonics waived him in October and he never played in the league again.

His NBA career lasted only 15 games with averages of 2.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, 0.3 steals, 0.2 assists, and 0.1 blocks per game along with a modest 39.3% field goal percentage. His CBA honors included being selected to the All-Star Game and the All-Defensive Team and leading the league in rebounds and blocked shots in 2004.

Since then, Smith has played professionally in Chile, Argentina, and Mexico.

References:
-Ready to play: Leon Smith forces Dallas to offer him NBA contract
November 2, 1999 - CNN/Sports Illustrated
-Worst of times: Mavericks' Smith has survived hard knocks by Josie Karp
November 4, 1999 - CNN/Sports Illustrated
-Smith lands in mental institution: Dallas rookie found by police wearing war paint
November 16, 1999 - CNN/Sports Illustrated
-First step: Leon Smith checks out of hospital, looks to future
January 7, 2000 - CNN/Sports Illustrated
-'I want to play' - Smith ready to return to NBA but not with Mavs
January 21, 2000 - CNN/Sports Illustrated
-Parting ways: Mavericks release rookie Leon Smith
February 2, 2000 - CNN/Sports Illustrated
-Leon Smith -HoopsHype.com
-Leon Smith - Basketball-Reference.com
-Where Are The Smiths - ShamSports.com
-Leon Smith Game-by-Game Stats - ESPN NBA

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