Dennis Smith Jr.

Dennis Cliff Smith Jr. (born November 25, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

He attended North Carolina State University for one season of college basketball and earned second-team all-conference honors in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) as a freshman as well as ACC Freshman of the Year.

During his first year at Trinity Christian in 2013, Smith came off the bench on the varsity basketball team, where he averaged 9.2 points and 3.0 assist per game.

On December 28, 2013, Smith scored 41 points in a 82–73 win over Homeschool Christian Youth Association and future NBA player Justin Jackson.

As a sophomore, Smith and Trinity Christian defeated Greenfield by one point to win the 2014 NCISAA 1-A State Championship; Smith scored 21 points and was named MVP.

During the season, Smith averaged, 17.6 points per game and 9.3 assists, 6.9 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game.

After the conclusion of his sophomore season, Smith participated in the NBPA Top 100 Camp on June 19, 2014, at John Paul Jones Arena in Virginia.

Smith also competed in the 2014 Adidas Nations.

In his junior year, Smith and Trinity Christian played in the 2014–2015 High School OT Holiday Invitational Tournament at Broughton High School in Raleigh.

On December 26, 2014, Smith scored 23 points to help Trinity defeat Ravenscroft School (83–60).

On December 29, 2014, Smith went head to head with an Orangeville Prep that featured future NBA players Jamal Murray and Thon Maker.

Smith scored 38 points in a losing effort as Trinity Christian lost (79–75) in the semi-finals.

On January 15, 2015, he scored 25 points in a 65–54 victory over Dudley High School, and on February 2, 2015, he scored 17 points to defeat Cape Fear Christian Academy in the NCISAA 1-A quarterfinals.

On February 11, 2015, in the last game of the season, Smith scored 33 points in a (90–58) loss to Word of God Christian Academy in the NCISAA 1-A Semi-finals.

On the season, Smith averaged 22.2 points per game, 7.1 assists, 5.1 rebounds per game and 3 steals, while leading the Crusaders to a (23–10) overall record.

In 2015, he was named the Gatorade Basketball Player of the Year for North Carolina.

Smith received surgery weeks later after the injury.

Before the injury, in the summer of 2015, Smith competed on the Adidas Uprising Circuit for the AAU team, Team Loaded North Carolina (NC), alongside future NBA player Bam Adebayo.

He led his team to victory in the Adidas Uprising Gauntlet Championship.

Smith averaged 16.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 6.9 assists in 11 games on the circuit.

On July 27, 2015, in a televised game on ESPNU, Smith recorded 29 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists in a 78–77 win over Kyle Guy and Indiana Elite.

On August 10, 2015, while competing in an Adidas Nations event, Smith tore his ACL, but did not feel any serious pain or swelling in his knee.

During surgery, Smith's doctors found that he had an extra ACL.

He was originally ruled out for his entire senior season of high school but in between two weeks and two months, he claimed that he had become more explosive, with his vertical increasing by 8 inches.

On September 10, 2015, Smith committed to North Carolina State University, picking NC State over Duke, Wake Forest, North Carolina and Kentucky to play college basketball.

In December 2015, Smith decided to reclassify and graduate early from Trinity Christian School and in January 2016 he enrolled at North Carolina State University.

Smith was rated a five-star recruit and was considered one of the best players and point guards in the 2016 high school class.

He was ranked No. 7 overall recruit by 247sports, while Scout.com ranked him No. 10 in the Class of 2016.

He decided to take the opportunity to get an early start on his first year by attending classes and rehabbing from his injury with the NC State medical staff before the start of the 2016–17 season.

Smith began his freshman season playing in two exhibition games against Lynn University and Barton College.

In his debut for the Wolfpack, Smith played 36 minutes and dished out five assists in an 81–79 victory against Georgia Southern.

On November 21, 2016, Smith recorded a then-career-high 24 points to go along with 8 assists, defeating Saint Joseph's University, 73–63, in the Paradise Jam tournament.

On November 26, 2016, he scored a season-high 30 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and tallied 7 assists to help NC State defeat Loyola University Chicago.

On December 15, 2016, Smith recorded 22 points and 6 assists, leading NC State in a win over Appalachian State.

Smith was selected ninth overall in the 2017 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks.

Smith spent two seasons in Dallas before being traded to the New York Knicks in January 2019.

He was traded to the Detroit Pistons in February 2021 and later joined the Portland Trail Blazers as a free agent in September of the same year.

He was waived by the Blazers in February 2022 after suffering a right elbow injury and signed with the Charlotte Hornets in the 2022 off-season.

He signed with the Brooklyn Nets in July 2023.

Smith attended Trinity Christian School in Fayetteville, North Carolina.