Malachi Smith (basketball)

Malachi Smith
Smith in 2022
No. 18 – Toronto Raptors
PositionShooting guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1999-12-06) December 6, 1999
Evansville, Indiana, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school
College
NBA draft2023: undrafted
Playing career2023–present
Career history
2023–2024Rip City Remix
2024Wisconsin Herd
2024–2025Memphis Hustle
2025–2026Long Island Nets
2026Brooklyn Nets
2026–presentToronto Raptors
Career highlights
Stats at NBA.com 
Stats at Basketball Reference 

Malachi Knight-Smith (born December 6, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Wright State Raiders, Chattanooga Mocs, and Gonzaga Bulldogs.

High school career

Smith started playing high school basketball at Belleville High School-East in Belleville, Illinois before transferring to Belleville High School-West for his senior season.[1] At Belleville West, he averaged 15.5 points alongside E. J. Liddell and helped his team win its first Class 4A state title.[2] Smith committed to playing college basketball for Wright State in November 2017, choosing the Raiders over Lindenwood, Montana State and Denver.[3]

College career

As a freshman at Wright State, Smith averaged 5.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, earning Horizon League All-Freshman Team honors. For his sophomore season, he transferred to Chattanooga and sat out for one year due to transfer rules.[4] Smith averaged 16.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, earning First Team All-Southern Conference (SoCon) honors from the league's coaches, in his first year with the team.[5] He declared for the 2021 NBA draft before returning to college.[6] On November 18, 2021, he scored a career-high 36 points in an 87–76 loss to Murray State.[7]

At the close of his sophomore season, Smith was named the Southern Conference Player of the Year by both the league's coaches and media.[8]

Professional career

Rip City Remix (2023–2024)

After going undrafted in the 2023 NBA draft, Smith joined the Portland Trail Blazers for the 2023 NBA Summer League[9] and on October 2, 2023, he signed with them.[10] However, he was waived on October 10[11] and on October 30, he joined the Rip City Remix of the NBA G League.[12]

Wisconsin Herd (2024)

On January 12, 2024, Smith was traded to the Wisconsin Herd in exchange for Jazian Gortman.[13] He made 27 appearances (including six starts) for the Herd, recording averages of 9.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists.

Memphis Hustle (2024–2025)

On October 9, 2024, Smith was traded to the Memphis Hustle.[14] He made 31 appearances (including eight starts) for Memphis during the 2024–25 NBA G League season, averaging 11.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists.

Long Island / Brooklyn Nets (2025–2026)

On September 9, 2025, Smith was traded to the Long Island Nets in exchange for Jordan Minor and a 2026 first-round pick.[15]

On March 13, 2026, Smith signed a 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets.[16][17] He signed a second 10-day contract with Brooklyn on March 24.[18] On April 4, following the expiration of his 10-day deal, Brooklyn re-signed Smith to a two-year, standard NBA contract.[19] On April 10, he recorded 19 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds in a 108–125 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.[20] In total, Smith appeared in ten NBA regular-season games, averaging 7.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.0 assists. On July 10, Smith was waived by the Nets.[21]

Toronto Raptors (2026–present)

On August 17, 2026, Smith signed with the Toronto Raptors.[22]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2025–26 Brooklyn 15423.9.485.4351.0003.43.3.8.38.3
Career 15423.9.485.4351.0003.43.3.8.38.3

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018–19 Wright State 35015.1.435.222.8202.91.7.8.15.4
2019–20 Chattanooga Redshirt Redshirt
2020–21 Chattanooga 252535.8.460.383.8028.83.31.5.216.8
2021–22 Chattanooga 353435.4.493.407.8276.73.01.7.119.9
2022–23 Gonzaga 37120.8.536.500.7923.61.4.9.08.7
Career 1326026.0.485.410.8155.22.31.2.112.3

Personal life

Smith's mother, Connie, served in the United States Air Force for 12.5 years and is currently an ALT Administrator at Ascension. His parents divorced when he was six years old, and he was subsequently raised by his mother. Smith's grandfather, Larry Knight, played professional basketball and was a first-round draft pick by the Utah Jazz.[23]

References

  1. ↑ Halfacre, Paul (February 24, 2018). "Smith has Belleville West ready for next step". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  2. ↑ Scott Jr., Maurice (February 20, 2019). "Malachi Smith making his way at Wright State". The St. Louis American. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  3. ↑ Eschman, Todd (November 7, 2017). "Belleville West guard doesn't wait for signing period to announce college choice". Belleville News-Democrat. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  4. ↑ Criddle, Dean (June 19, 2019). "Belleville West graduate Malachi Smith transfers to Tennessee-Chattanooga". Belleville News-Democrat. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Season Review: Smith Sets New Standard". University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Athletics. June 10, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  6. ↑ Nyman, Rick (July 8, 2021). "Mocs Malachi Smith and David Jean Baptiste Enjoyed NBA Draft Process". WDEF-TV. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Brown carries Murray State past Chattanooga 87-76". USA Today. Associated Press. December 18, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  8. ↑ "All-SoCon men's basketball teams announced" (Press release). Southern Conference. March 2, 2022. Archived from the original on March 2, 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Trail Blazers Announce NBA 2K24 NBA Summer League 2023 Roster". NBA.com. June 30, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Trail Blazers Sign Five Players". NBA.com. October 2, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Trail Blazers Sign George Conditt". NBA.com. October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  12. ↑ Holdahl, Casey [@CHold] (October 30, 2023). "The @ripcityremix begin training camp for their inagural [sic] season today at the @trailblazers practice facility. Here's who they're taking into camp..." (Tweet). Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  13. ↑ "WISCONSIN HERD ACQUIRE MALACHI SMITH". NBA.com. January 12, 2024. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Memphis Hustle complete six-team trade". NBA.com. October 9, 2024. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Long Island Nets Acquire Malachi Smith From The Memphis Hustle". September 9, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Nets' Malachi Smith: Signs with Nets". cbssports.com. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Malachi Smith earns Nets 10-day contract as Grant Nelson's season ends early". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  18. ↑ https://gleague.nba.com/news/brooklyn-nets-sign-malachi-smith-to-second-10-day-contract
  19. ↑ "Nets reward Malachi Smith with two-year contract after 'anything but easy' journey to NBA". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved June 11, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Nets Exercise Smith's Team Option for 2026-27 Season". ca.sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved June 29, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Malachi Smith: Waived by Brooklyn". cbssports.com. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Raptors sign Smith". NBA.com. August 17, 2026. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
  23. ↑ Archdeacon, Tom (October 23, 2018). "Freshman guard hopes to live up to his name at Wright State". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
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