Russ Smith Signs With Pacers’ G-League Affiliate
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Russ Smith is finally back in the league.
The Fort Wayne Mad Ants, who are the NBA G-League affiliate for the Indiana Pacers, announced Thursday that they had signed the former Louisville star from the available player pool.
“I’m so grateful I get to play,” Smith posted to Twitter. “Basketball Gods really just took care of me.”
It’s Smith’s first stint in the G-League since the 2016-17 season, last playing for the Philadelphia 76ers’ affiliate - the Delaware 87ers. The bulk of his professional career since mid-2017 has been spent overseas in China, having last played for the Sichuan Blue Whales.
In 72 total G-League games, Smith averaged 20.7 points, 6.0 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 31.8 percent on three point attempts. He saw time with the 87ers, a brief prior stint with the Mad Ants, and the Iowa Energy.
Smith was selected with the No. 47 overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft by the 76ers, only to be traded to the New Orleans Pelicans the next day, who would trade him later that season to the Memphis Grizzlies. Between the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons, he saw action in 27 games, totaling 53 points, 19 assists and 15 rebounds.
Known as ‘Russdiculous’ for his wild and reckless playstyle, the shooting guard left Louisville as the program’s fifth all-time leading scorer with 1,908 points, and their career leader in steals with 257.
He helped lead the Cardinals to the 2013 national championship, their third in school history, averaging 18.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.1 steals as a junior that year. His 2013-14 senior season was his best in a Cardinal uniform, putting up 18.2 points, 4.6 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game, and getting named a Consensus First Team All-American as a result.
(Photo of Russ Smith via USA TODAY)
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