Ish Smith, The Team Traveller

Ishmael Larry Smith, or as you might know him, Ish Smith, is a 34 year old NBA player from Charlotte, North Carolina. Here's his story.

After going undrafted in the 2010 NBA draft, Ish Smith was picked up by the Houston Rockets on a two way deal with their G League affiliate team, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. But Ish didn't last so long in Houston, as he was traded to the Grizzlies the following season.

Smith did not last long in Memphis either, getting traded in the middle of the season to the Golden State Warriors. You'll see that this was a recurring event for Ish as he got traded to the Magic. Magically, he managed to stay more than one season in Orlando, but to avail, he got traded again. Towards Milwaukee, to Phoenix, and to OKC. By this time Ish Smith averaged 2.6 points per game in the league. After 5 long seasons he barely scraped over 3.7 points per game and 2.6 assists per game in his best season.

Ish Smith spent half a season in Philadelphia after his short-lived stint with OKC. Incredibly, out of nowhere, Ish Smith averaged 12 points per game and 6.1 assists, as well as 2.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 25 games for the Sixers. Only then did the Rockets come back for their player in the middle of the season, thinking he could bring the best out of their star player, James Harden. But unfortunately for Ish, that stint in Philadelphia wouldn't replicate in Houston. In his second term with the Rockets, Ish Smith only played 7 games averaging 4.9 points.
Seeing as the chemistry in Houston wasn't there, Ish Smith came back to Philly where he felt at home. This time around he spent an entire season with the Sixers, averaging a career high 14.7 ppg, 4.3 rebounds and 7 assists per game. Although Ish Smith had a career season, the Sixers were in their tanking era, finishing with one of the worst records in NBA history with 10 wins and 72 losses.

Following his second stint with the Sixers, Ish Smith headed to Washington to team up with all-star guards John Wall and Bradley Beal, where he only saw 50 minutes of play in 4 games for part of the season. The reason why? He got traded AGAIN. This time he headed to the New Orleans Pelicans where he averaged 8.9 points with 5.7 assists.

Now on his 11th team in his 7 season long career, Ish Smith finally found a bit of rest before packing up for yet another team. He spent 3 whole seasons with this struggling Pistons team, finally making the playoffs in the third year. He averaged decent numbers with 9.7 points and 4.4 assists per game in Detroit, not what you'd expect from a man who's been living off a suitcase since the PS3.

Finally, he rejoined the Wizard in the 2019 off-season, averaging 10.9 points and 4.9 assists per game in his first season, before descending in output.

In the summer of 2021, he signed for the Hornets, before coming back the same season to Washington. Back in Washington, Ish somehow managed to average 8.6 pints and 5.2 assists, but that was it for the Wizards.

Clearly Ish Smith had a preference in his conferences. He barely averaged 5 points per game when playing in the west, besides that one season for the Pelicans (8.9 ppg), and also dropped in efficiency. But when playing in the east, OOF was happy. This was the conference he felt the most comfortable in. Being a helping hand for the Pistons and the Wizards (and the Sixers but they were tanking, so does it really matter?)

Finally, after 12 teams and close to 13 seasons in the league, Ish Smith most recently joined the Denver Nuggets, who went on to become NBA Champions that very season, giving Ish Smith the well-deserved piece of jewellery.

Throughout his entire career, Ish Smith averaged 7.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 0.7 steals in 19.4 minutes per game. All while shooting 42.9% from the field, and 32.3 from three, which is weeeellll below average in the league.

This is the story of Ish Smith in his long NBA career, for now…