Randolph (Randy) Smith

Position: Guard-Forward
Height: 6-3 Weight: 180 lbs.
Born: December 12, 1948 in Bellport, New York
High School: Bellport High School, Brookhaven, New York
College: Buffalo State College

Drafted: Buffalo Braves in the 7th round (2nd pick, 104th overall) of the 1971 NBA draft.

Professional basketball player who set the NBA record for consecutive games played. From 1972-1982, Smith played in every regular season game, en route to a then-record of 906 straight games (since broken by A. C. Green).
College
Smith was an outstanding all-around athlete at Buffalo State College, earning All-American honors in three sports: basketball, soccer and track. (At Bellport High School on Long Island, Smith was a standout on the soccer and basketball teams, and set a state high jump record of 6-foot-6.) However, it was on the basketball court that Smith shown brightest, teaming with Durie Burns to lead the Bengals to three straight conference championships, including a trip to the Final Four of the NCAA Division III Tournament in 1970. By national standards, Buffalo State was a small, obscure school, and it was only because of the local connection that Smith was drafted to the NBA at all. In 1971, he was selected by the Buffalo Braves in the seventh round (104th pick overall) of the NBA Draft.
NBA
Smith surprised everyone in training camp, and he made the final roster cuts. Despite standing only 6-foot-3, he was assigned to play forward. He averaged 13.4 points per game in his rookie season. Smith continued to improve beyond expectation, drawing on his tremendous speed, quickness and leaping ability. His style of play, along with contemporaries like Julius Erving, marked by fast breaks and 'above the rim' ball movements influenced the offense style of the NBA in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Playing alongside league scoring champion Bob McAdoo, Smith averaged 21.8 points per game in the 1975-76 season, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team.
The highlight of Smith’s career was the 1978 NBA All-Star Game, where he came off the bench to lead all scorers with 27 points, and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.
Smith played for seven years for the Braves until the franchise was shifted to the San Diego Clippers in 1978. That first year with the Clippers, Smith had his fourth consecutive season averaging over 20 points per game.
In 1979, Smith was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he was named team captain and played for two years. He spent the 1981 season with the New York Knicks, before moving back to San Diego for another season. Smith retired from professional basketball in 1983 after playing fifteen games for the Atlanta Hawks
Post-NBA
After retiring as a player, Smith was an N.B.A. league executive whose duties included assisting former players in need, and he was a coach in the Continental Basketball Association before working at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, where he worked in promotion.

Statistics

Glossary

Season	Age	Tm	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
1971-72	23	BUF	76		2094	432	896	.482				158	254	.622			368	189				202	1022
1972-73	24	BUF	82		2603	511	1154	.443				192	264	.727			391	422				247	1214
1973-74	25	BUF	82		2745	531	1079	.492				205	288	.712	87	228	315	383	203	4		261	1267
1974-75	26	BUF	82		3001	610	1261	.484				236	295	.800	95	249	344	534	137	3		247	1456
1975-76	27	BUF	82		3167	702	1422	.494				383	469	.817	104	313	417	484	153	4		274	1787
1976-77	28	BUF	82		3094	702	1504	.467				294	386	.762	134	323	457	441	176	8		264	1698
1977-78	29	BUF	82		3314	789	1697	.465				443	554	.800	110	200	310	458	172	11	286	224	2021
1978-79	30	SDC	82		3111	693	1523	.455				292	359	.813	102	193	295	395	177	5	255	177	1678
1979-80	31	CLE	82		2677	599	1326	.452	10	53	.189	233	283	.823	93	163	256	363	125	7	200	190	1441
1980-81	32	CLE	82		2199	486	1043	.466	1	28	.036	221	271	.815	46	147	193	357	113	14	195	132	1194
1981-82	33	NYK	82	40	2033	348	748	.465	3	11	.273	122	151	.808	53	102	155	255	91	1	124	199	821
1982-83	34	TOT	80	16	1406	273	565	.483	3	18	.167	114	131	.870	37	59	96	206	56	0	98	139	663
1982-83	34	SDC	65	16	1264	244	499	.489	3	16	.188	101	117	.863	35	53	88	192	54	0	89	122	592
1982-83	34	ATL	15	0	142	29	66	.439	0	2	.000	13	14	.929	2	6	8	14	2	0	9	17	71
Career			976	56	31444	6676	14218	.470	17	110	.155	2893	3705	.781	861	1977	3597	4487	1403	57	1158	2556	16262

Per Game

Glossary

Season	Age	Tm	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
1971-72	23	BUF	76		27.6	5.7	11.8	.482				2.1	3.3	.622			4.8	2.5				2.7	13.4
1972-73	24	BUF	82		31.7	6.2	14.1	.443				2.3	3.2	.727			4.8	5.1				3.0	14.8
1973-74	25	BUF	82		33.5	6.5	13.2	.492				2.5	3.5	.712	1.1	2.8	3.8	4.7	2.5	0.0		3.2	15.5
1974-75	26	BUF	82		36.6	7.4	15.4	.484				2.9	3.6	.800	1.2	3.0	4.2	6.5	1.7	0.0		3.0	17.8
1975-76	27	BUF	82		38.6	8.6	17.3	.494				4.7	5.7	.817	1.3	3.8	5.1	5.9	1.9	0.0		3.3	21.8
1976-77	28	BUF	82		37.7	8.6	18.3	.467				3.6	4.7	.762	1.6	3.9	5.6	5.4	2.1	0.1		3.2	20.7
1977-78	29	BUF	82		40.4	9.6	20.7	.465				5.4	6.8	.800	1.3	2.4	3.8	5.6	2.1	0.1	3.5	2.7	24.6
1978-79	30	SDC	82		37.9	8.5	18.6	.455				3.6	4.4	.813	1.2	2.4	3.6	4.8	2.2	0.1	3.1	2.2	20.5
1979-80	31	CLE	82		32.6	7.3	16.2	.452	0.1	0.6	.189	2.8	3.5	.823	1.1	2.0	3.1	4.4	1.5	0.1	2.4	2.3	17.6
1980-81	32	CLE	82		26.8	5.9	12.7	.466	0.0	0.3	.036	2.7	3.3	.815	0.6	1.8	2.4	4.4	1.4	0.2	2.4	1.6	14.6
1981-82	33	NYK	82	40	24.8	4.2	9.1	.465	0.0	0.1	.273	1.5	1.8	.808	0.6	1.2	1.9	3.1	1.1	0.0	1.5	2.4	10.0
1982-83	34	TOT	80	16	17.6	3.4	7.1	.483	0.0	0.2	.167	1.4	1.6	.870	0.5	0.7	1.2	2.6	0.7	0.0	1.2	1.7	8.3
1982-83	34	SDC	65	16	19.4	3.8	7.7	.489	0.0	0.2	.188	1.6	1.8	.863	0.5	0.8	1.4	3.0	0.8	0.0	1.4	1.9	9.1
1982-83	34	ATL	15	0	9.5	1.9	4.4	.439	0.0	0.1	.000	0.9	0.9	.929	0.1	0.4	0.5	0.9	0.1	0.0	0.6	1.1	4.7
Career			976	56	32.2	6.8	14.6	.470	0.1	0.3	.155	3.0	3.8	.781	1.1	2.4	3.7	4.6	1.7	0.1	2.4	2.6	16.7

Per 36 Minutes

Glossary

Season	Age	Tm	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
1971-72	23	BUF	76		2094	7.4	15.4	.482				2.7	4.4	.622			6.3	3.2				3.5	17.6
1972-73	24	BUF	82		2603	7.1	16.0	.443				2.7	3.7	.727			5.4	5.8				3.4	16.8
1973-74	25	BUF	82		2745	7.0	14.2	.492				2.7	3.8	.712	1.1	3.0	4.1	5.0	2.7	0.1		3.4	16.6
1974-75	26	BUF	82		3001	7.3	15.1	.484				2.8	3.5	.800	1.1	3.0	4.1	6.4	1.6	0.0		3.0	17.5
1975-76	27	BUF	82		3167	8.0	16.2	.494				4.4	5.3	.817	1.2	3.6	4.7	5.5	1.7	0.0		3.1	20.3
1976-77	28	BUF	82		3094	8.2	17.5	.467				3.4	4.5	.762	1.6	3.8	5.3	5.1	2.0	0.1		3.1	19.8
1977-78	29	BUF	82		3314	8.6	18.4	.465				4.8	6.0	.800	1.2	2.2	3.4	5.0	1.9	0.1	3.1	2.4	22.0
1978-79	30	SDC	82		3111	8.0	17.6	.455				3.4	4.2	.813	1.2	2.2	3.4	4.6	2.0	0.1	3.0	2.0	19.4
1979-80	31	CLE	82		2677	8.1	17.8	.452	0.1	0.7	.189	3.1	3.8	.823	1.3	2.2	3.4	4.9	1.7	0.1	2.7	2.6	19.4
1980-81	32	CLE	82		2199	8.0	17.1	.466	0.0	0.5	.036	3.6	4.4	.815	0.8	2.4	3.2	5.8	1.8	0.2	3.2	2.2	19.5
1981-82	33	NYK	82	40	2033	6.2	13.2	.465	0.1	0.2	.273	2.2	2.7	.808	0.9	1.8	2.7	4.5	1.6	0.0	2.2	3.5	14.5
1982-83	34	TOT	80	16	1406	7.0	14.5	.483	0.1	0.5	.167	2.9	3.4	.870	0.9	1.5	2.5	5.3	1.4	0.0	2.5	3.6	17.0
1982-83	34	SDC	65	16	1264	6.9	14.2	.489	0.1	0.5	.188	2.9	3.3	.863	1.0	1.5	2.5	5.5	1.5	0.0	2.5	3.5	16.9
1982-83	34	ATL	15	0	142	7.4	16.7	.439	0.0	0.5	.000	3.3	3.5	.929	0.5	1.5	2.0	3.5	0.5	0.0	2.3	4.3	18.0
Career			976	56	31444	7.6	16.3	.470	0.1	0.5	.155	3.3	4.2	.781	1.2	2.7	4.1	5.1	1.9	0.1	2.8	2.9	18.6

Advanced

Glossary

Season	Age	Tm	G	MP	PER	TS%	eFG%	ORB%	DRB%	TRB%	AST%	STL%	BLK%	TOV%	USG%	ORtg	DRtg	OWS	DWS	WS
1971-72	23	BUF	76	2094	15.5	.507	.482			8.5	13.8
1972-73	24	BUF	82	2603	15.0	.478	.443			7.0	23.2
1973-74	25	BUF	82	2745	15.9	.525	.492	3.2	8.0	5.7	18.7	3.2	0.1				99	3.5	2.4	5.9
1974-75	26	BUF	82	3001	17.1	.523	.484	3.4	8.1	5.8	25.5	2.0	0.0				100	5.1	2.3	7.4
1975-76	27	BUF	82	3167	18.7	.549	.494	3.5	10.0	6.9	23.1	2.1	0.1				99	6.6	3.0	9.6
1976-77	28	BUF	82	3094	17.6	.507	.467	4.3	10.6	7.4	22.8	2.5	0.1				101	3.9	2.5	6.4
1977-78	29	BUF	82	3314	19.1	.521	.465	3.6	6.4	5.0	22.2	2.4	0.2	12.8	26.8	104	105	6.0	1.7	7.7
1978-79	30	SDC	82	3111	16.6	.499	.455	3.5	6.6	5.0	17.6	2.6	0.1	13.2	23.6	106	109	4.5	1.3	5.8
1979-80	31	CLE	82	2677	15.2	.497	.456	3.5	6.7	5.0	18.5	2.1	0.1	12.1	23.7	103	108	2.4	1.9	4.3
1980-81	32	CLE	82	2199	17.0	.514	.466	2.2	7.8	4.9	23.9	2.4	0.4	14.4	24.8	103	109	2.0	1.2	3.3
1981-82	33	NYK	82	2033	12.2	.504	.467	2.9	5.9	4.4	17.5	2.2	0.0	13.2	19.0	104	111	1.2	1.2	2.4
1982-83	34	TOT	80	1406	14.5	.532	.486	2.8	5.1	3.9	20.5	1.9	0.0	13.6	20.1	109	112	2.2	0.3	2.5
1982-83	34	SDC	65	1264	14.9	.538	.492	2.9	5.2	4.0	21.1	2.0	0.0	13.9	19.7	111	112	2.2	0.2	2.4
1982-83	34	ATL	15	142	11.5	.492	.439	1.5	4.5	3.0	15.3	0.7	0.0	11.1	23.8	100	109	0.1	0.1	0.1
Career			976	31444	16.5	.513	.470	3.4	7.7	5.9	20.8	2.4	0.1	13.1	23.6	104	104	37.6	17.7	55.3

Playoffs

Glossary

			Totals																Shooting			Per Game
Season	Age	Tm	G	MP	FG	FGA	3P	3PA	FT	FTA	ORB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS	FG%	3P%	FT%	MP	PTS	TRB	AST
1973-74	25	BUF	6	227	36	90			13	20	5	26	27	10	1		21	85	.400		.650	37.8	14.2	4.3	4.5
1974-75	26	BUF	7	286	50	105			26	30	8	30	49	18	1		23	126	.476		.867	40.9	18.0	4.3	7.0
1975-76	27	BUF	9	386	81	161			41	49	5	52	77	14	0		35	203	.503		.837	42.9	22.6	5.8	8.6
1982-83	34	ATL	2	15	1	5	0	0	4	4	0	1	4	1	0	0	1	6	.200		1.000	7.5	3.0	0.5	2.0
Career			24	914	168	361	0	0	84	103	18	109	157	43	2	0	80	420	.465		.816	38.1	17.5	4.5	6.5

Playoffs Advanced

Glossary

Season	Age	Tm	G	MP	PER	TS%	eFG%	ORB%	DRB%	TRB%	AST%	STL%	BLK%	TOV%	USG%	ORtg	DRtg	OWS	DWS	WS
1973-74	25	BUF	6	227	11.2	.430	.400	2.1	8.6	5.4	15.8	1.9	0.2				97	-0.1	0.3	0.1
1974-75	26	BUF	7	286	17.7	.533	.476	2.9	8.5	5.6	24.8	2.9	0.2				101	0.5	0.2	0.7
1975-76	27	BUF	9	386	19.2	.556	.503	1.5	12.6	7.3	31.0	1.7	0.0				103	0.7	0.2	1.0
1982-83	34	ATL	2	15	19.4	.444	.200	0.0	6.7	3.4	39.0	3.3	0.0	0.0	19.9	116	100	0.0	0.0	0.1
Career			24	914	16.7	.517	.465	2.0	10.2	6.2	25.4	2.1	0.1	0.0	19.9	116	101	1.1	0.7	1.8

All-Star Games

Glossary

Season	Age	Tm	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
1975-76	27	BUF	1		15	4	7	.571				0	0			1	3		1		0	8
1977-78	29	BUF	1		29	11	14	.786				5	6	.833		7	6		0	3	5	27
Career			2		44	15	21	.714				5	6	.833		8	9		1	3	5	35

Appearances on Leader Boards, Awards, and Honors

Glossary

All-Star Games

1976 NBA
1978 NBA

Awards

1977-78 NBA All-Star Game MVP

Honors

1975-76 NBA All-NBA (2nd)

MVP Award Shares

1975-76 NBA 0.001 (24)
Career 0.001 (229)

Games

1972-73 NBA 82 (1)
1973-74 NBA 82 (1)
1974-75 NBA 82 (2)
1975-76 NBA 82 (2)
1976-77 NBA 82 (3)
1977-78 NBA 82 (3)
1978-79 NBA 82 (1)
1979-80 NBA 82 (2)
1980-81 NBA 82 (3)
1981-82 NBA 82 (4)

Minutes Played

1975-76 NBA 3167 (5)
1976-77 NBA 3094 (6)
1977-78 NBA 3314 (2)
1978-79 NBA 3111 (6)
Career NBA 31444 (87)
Career 31444 (95)

Field Goals

1975-76 NBA 702 (6)
1977-78 NBA 789 (7)
Career NBA 6676 (65)
Career 6676 (69)

Field Goal Attempts

1975-76 NBA 1422 (9)
1976-77 NBA 1504 (8)
1977-78 NBA 1697 (2)
1978-79 NBA 1523 (3)
Career NBA 14218 (68)
Career 14218 (72)

Free Throws

1975-76 NBA 383 (8)
1977-78 NBA 443 (6)

Free Throw Attempts

1975-76 NBA 469 (8)
1977-78 NBA 554 (10)

Assists

1974-75 NBA 534 (4)
1975-76 NBA 484 (7)
1977-78 NBA 458 (7)
Career NBA 4487 (63)
Career 4487 (66)

Steals

1973-74 NBA 203 (3)
1975-76 NBA 153 (9)
1976-77 NBA 176 (8)
1977-78 NBA 172 (6)
1978-79 NBA 177 (4)
Career NBA 1403 (40)
Career 1403 (42)

Points

1975-76 NBA 1787 (4)
1977-78 NBA 2021 (4)
Career NBA 16262 (83)
Career 16262 (89)

Minutes Per Game

1975-76 NBA 38.6 (9)
1976-77 NBA 37.7 (9)
1977-78 NBA 40.4 (5)
1978-79 NBA 37.9 (8)

Points Per Game

1975-76 NBA 21.8 (7)
1977-78 NBA 24.6 (7)

Assists Per Game

1974-75 NBA 6.5 (4)
1975-76 NBA 5.9 (7)
1977-78 NBA 5.6 (8)

Steals Per Game

1973-74 NBA 2.5 (3)
1976-77 NBA 2.1 (10)
1977-78 NBA 2.1 (8)
1978-79 NBA 2.2 (6)
Career NBA 1.7 (25)
Career 1.7 (28)

Assist Pct

1972-73 NBA 23.2 (10)
1974-75 NBA 25.5 (7)
1975-76 NBA 23.1 (10)

Steal Pct

1973-74 NBA 3.2 (3)
Career NBA 2.4 (35)
Career 2.4 (39)

Offensive Win Shares

1975-76 NBA 6.6 (10)

Win Shares

1975-76 NBA 9.6 (9)

Return to Index