Nolan Smith

As a freshman at Duke in 2007–08, Smith played in all 34 games, with one starting assignment as he averaged 5.9 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 14.7 minutes per game. He earned his first collegiate start against Cornell on January 6, 2008, and scored nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, while overall, he scored in double figures six times, including a season-high 21 points against Wake Forest on February 17.[4]

As a sophomore in 2008–09, Smith played in 34 games, with 21 starting assignments as he averaged 8.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He finished the season ranked fourth on the team in double-figure scoring games with 17. He scored a season-high 16 points, along with five rebounds and four assists, against Michigan on November 21, 2008.[4]

As a junior in 2009–10, Smith started 38 games after sitting out the first two games of the season, serving a suspension for playing in a non-sanctioned summer league game. He averaged 17.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He led the Blue Devils in field goals made; finished second in assists, steals and three-point field goal percentage; and third on the team in scoring, three-point field goals, free throws made, free throw percentage and minutes. He subsequently earned second-team All-ACC honors, and claimed USBWA All-District III and NABC Second Team All-District 2 honors.[4]

March 28, 2010, Smith scored a then career-high 29 points on 9-of-17 from the field in an Elite Eight game, as Duke defeated Baylor and advanced to the Final Four.[4] In that game, Smith (628 points), Jon Scheyer (690 points) and Kyle Singler (667 points) became the second trio in Duke history to each score at least 600 points in a season; in 2001–02, Jay Williams, Carlos Boozer and Mike Dunleavy, Jr. first accomplished that feat for Duke.[7]

Smith went on to earn NCAA All-Final Four team as he led Duke to an NCAA championship victory. He averaged 16 points and five assists per game in wins over West Virginia and Butler.[4]

Nolan (2) was named ACC Player of the Year in 2011.

As a senior in 2010–11, Smith started 37 games as he averaged 20.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game.[8] He was named the 12th ACC Player of the Year in school history after becoming the 11th Duke player to lead the league in scoring. He earned first-team All-ACC and ACC All-Defensive team honors, and NABC and USBWA first-team All-District honors after leading Duke to a 32–5 record and a third consecutive ACC championship. He was also a finalist for the Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award, Oscar Robertson Trophy and Bob Cousy Award.[4]

On February 9, 2011, Smith scored a career high 34 points in a home win over No. 20 North Carolina, making a career-high 13 field goal attempts.[4]

Smith was the team captain in 2010–11, along with fellow senior Kyle Singler. He was well respected amongst his peers as teammates gravitated towards him in the locker room because of his passion for the game, and his ability to remain energetic and loose in high-pressure situations. He became just the ninth player under Mike Krzyzewski to average over 20.0 points per game, and with his 764 total points in 2010–11, he recorded the ninth highest single season total and is just the 19th time a Duke player has scored 700 or more.[4]

Smith (right) with teammate Damian Lillard in 2013

Smith was selected with the 21st overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. On December 9, 2011, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Trail Blazers.[9] As a rookie, he played 44 games (four starts) and averaged 3.8 points, 1.4 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game.

In July 2012, Smith joined the Trail Blazers for the 2012 NBA Summer League, but managed just two games after he was ruled out for the rest of the competition on July 17 when he received an elbow to the head from Rockets' swingman Zoran Dragić while driving to the hoop. He was carried out on a stretcher and the game was called off with 27 seconds left to play. Later that day, after tests came back normal, he was released from Las Vegas hospital.[10]

On January 6, 2013, Smith was assigned to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League.[11] On January 9, he was recalled by the Trail Blazers after competing in both of Idaho's games at the 2013 NBA D-League Showcase in Reno. He averaged 22.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.0 steals in 38.0 minutes per game as he was named Showcase honorable mention honors.[12][13] He finished his sophomore season with averages of 2.8 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 40 games.

In July 2013, Smith joined the Boston Celtics for the 2013 NBA Summer League where he played just one game and scored four points.[14]

On August 18, 2013, Smith signed a one-year deal with Cedevita Zagreb of the Croatian League.[15][16] He gained a lot of media attention in the country after hitting a buzzer beater three-pointer with 0.6 seconds left in the semi-final of the ABA League Final Four, securing his team a spot in the 2014–15 Euroleague, and leaving a Serbian legendary club Partizan out of the Euroleague for the first time after 14 years, and the first time since ULEB takeover of the competition in 2000.[17]

In July 2014, Smith joined the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 2014 NBA Summer League where he averaged 4.6 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in five games.

On August 29, 2014, Smith signed a one-year deal with Galatasaray Liv Hospital of the Turkish Basketball League.[18] On October 19, 2014, in a Turkish League game against Banvit,[19] he threw a towel while being subbed out, after which head coach Ergin Ataman expelled him from the arena.[20] He later apologized for this incident.[21] He later parted ways with Galatasaray on October 27, 2014.[22]

On November 26, 2014, Smith was acquired by the Delaware 87ers of the NBA Development League.[23] On January 15, 2015, he was waived by the 87ers.[24]