Katie Smith
(Born 1974)
Hall of Fame Induction: 2018
Card Shown:
2007 WNBA
Position: G/F
Height: 5’11”
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Katie Smith was a top scorer and a champion at all levels during her basketball career. She starred at Ohio State, won two championships in the fledgling ABL, two more championships in the WNBA, and five gold medals in international competition at the World Championships and the Olympics. After retiring as a player, Katie became an assistant coach and later the head coach of the WNBA’s New York Liberty.
Awards and Honors
- Katie starred for The Ohio State University from 1992-1996, winning the Big Ten Player of the Year Award in 1996. She led the Buckeyes to the NCAA championship game as a freshman and was the first female athlete to have her number retired by Ohio State.
- In 1997, and again in 1998, Smith led the Columbus Quest to the American Basketball League (ABL) championship. She was named to the ABL All-Star team both years. The league folded during the 1998-99 season and Katie joined the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA.
- Katie was chosen as a WNBA All-Star seven times during her WNBA career. She was also named All-WNBA First Team twice and All-WNBA Second Team twice.
- Smith led the Detroit Shock to two WNBA championships in 2006 and 2008. In 2008 she was named the WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player.
- Katie was named to the WNBA All-Decade Team in 2006, the WNBA’s Top 15 Players of All Time in 2011, and the WNBA Top 20 @ 20 in 2016. These selections confirm her standing as one of the top players in the history of the WNBA.
- Smith starred on the international stage as well. With USA Basketball, she won two gold medals in the FIBA World Championships (1998, 2002) and three gold medals in the Olympics (2000, 2004, 2008).
Points of Interest
- Smith retired as the all-time leading scorer in women’s professional basketball, having scored over 7,000 points in the ABL and WNBA.
- A top shooter, Smith completed her WNBA career with shooting percentages of 40.4% from the field, 36.7% from behind the three-point line, and 85.9% from the free-throw line.
- Katie finished her WNBA career with averages of 13.4 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.9 rebounds per game. Her top scoring season took place in 2001 when she averaged 23.1 points per game.
- In 2017, Smith replaced NBA star Bill Laimbeer as the coach of the WNBA’s New York Liberty. She had previously served as an assistant coach for the Liberty.
- In 2018, Katie was also chosen for induction into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
Statistics
Katie Smith Statistics
provided by Basketball-Reference.com