Josh Smith

The All-star caliber player from the Atlanta Hawks 

Josh Smith (A.K.A J-Smoove)  is relatively unknown to the casual NBA fan. But his statistics and NBA records demand your attention. 

Josh Smith is a star in his hometown Atlanta, but to the rest of world he is almost unnoticed. He earned a reputation in High school as a fierce shot-blocker. He still retains that reputation in the NBA, but many people have overlooked that fact because of other larger players who get more blacks than Smith. Smith has a relatively small size considering he is able to block so many shots. Standing at 6 ft 9 in, he is small compared to other tall players who can block shots. 

Since joining the NBA in 2004, Smith have broken a number of NBA records for blocks. He is the youngest player to be able to:

• block 10 shots in a game while he was just 19
• 500 career blocked shots at the age of 21
• 1000 career blocked shots at the age of 24

These are amazing accomplishments that Josh Smith has been able to fulfill and not many players can do these, not even the legends of basketball. Josh smith is an amazingly versatile player and can do almost anything on the court. His teammate Al Horford stated "there isn't another power forward in the league who can do exactly what he does: running the floor, shooting a little from outside, finishing at the rim, then blocking a bunch of shots and playing defense everywhere" 

Josh Smith will remain a player fit for the hall of fame, people just needs to pay attention to his game.

Bibliography:

Bowers, Brendan. "NBA." Bleacher Report. Turner Sports Network, 24 Dec. 2012. Web. 15 Mar. 2013. <http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1454929-10-most-underrated-nba-players-in-the-league-right-now/page/11>.

Cordes, Joel C. "Al Horford Talks NCAA Tournament, Atlanta Hawks Playoffs, Josh Smith and More." Bleacher Report. Turner Sports Network, 9 Apr. 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1598618-al-horford-talks-ncaa-tournament-atlanta-hawks-playoffs-josh-smith-and-more/page/5>.

"NBA.com, Official Site of the National Basketball Association." NBA.com. Turner Sports Network, n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://www.nba.com/playerfile/josh_smith/career_stats.html>.