Nationality American Role Basketball player Name Elmore Smith | Listed weight 250 lb (113 kg) Weight 113 kg Listed height 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) Height 2.13 m | |
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College Kentucky State (1968–1971) NBA draft 1971 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd overall Number 3 (Buffalo Braves / Center) | ||
Elmore Smith - Mount Elmore
Elmore Smith (born May 9, 1949) is an American retired professional basketball player born in Macon, Georgia. A 7'0" center from Kentucky State University, he played in the National Basketball Association from 1971 to 1979. He was a member of the Buffalo Braves, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Cleveland Cavaliers.
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In his first season, Smith averaged 17.3 points per game and 15.2 rebounds per game and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team. His rebounding average for that season is the eighth-highest ever recorded by an NBA rookie.
Smith is best remembered for his shot-blocking, earning him the nickname "Elmore the Rejector". He led the league in total blocked shots twice (in 1974 and 1975), and holds the NBA record for most blocked shots in a game since 1973, with 17. He achieved this mark against the Portland Trail Blazers on October 28, 1973, while playing for the Lakers. Smith's average of 4.85 blocks per game from the 1973–74 season (the first season blocked shots were officially recorded in the NBA) is the third highest ever. He was also a skilled rebounder, and he averaged a double-double (13.4 points, 10.6 rebounds) over the course of his career.
Smith was one of four players the Lakers traded to Milwaukee (along Brian Winters and draft picks Junior Bridgeman and Dave Meyers) in exchange for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar after the 1974–75 NBA season. He holds the Los Angeles Clippers' (formerly the Buffalo Braves) franchise record for rebounds per game (13.8).
Elmore Smith 2017 SCB Hall of Fame Induction
Statistics
During Smith's first two seasons, blocks and steals were not an officially recorded statistic.
