NB70s: Bobby "Bingo" Smith
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- With the sixth pick in the first round of the 1969 NBA draft, the San Diego Rockets selected Smith. A year later, he was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1970 Expansion Draft. In his first game with the team, he scored 21 points. He helped contribute to the Cavaliers winning the NBA Central Division title in 1976, and was part of the Miracle at Richfield, winning Game 2 of the Semifinals vs the Washington Bullets.
In 11 seasons, Smith played in 865 games and logged 22,407 minutes. Smith was especially noted for his ability to hit jump shots from long range. His outside jump shots often were taken from today's 3 point range. For his career, he recorded a .449 field goal percentage (4,776 FGs made out of 10,642 attempts). Smith also had a .798 free throw rate (1,307-of-1,637) and also accounted for 3,630 total rebounds, 1,734 assists and 10,882 points. Smith was known for his rainbow jumper, now utilized by other forwards such as Dirk Nowitzki.
His best season was in 1974, when he scored 15.9 points per game and had a .483 field goal percentage.
Smith played the full 82 games in four of his seasons, but he also led the league in turnover percentage in his final three seasons. He scored his 10,000th point in the middle of the 1979 season.
On October 27, 1979, he was traded for a 3rd round draft pick (used to pick Stuart House) to the San Diego Clippers. Oddly enough, the Cavaliers retired his number over a month later, while he was still playing with the Clippers. Fittingly, he ended his career in the same place it had started. After one season (the first year that the three point line was instituted), he was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in 1980 Expansion Draft, but he never played for them, retiring at the age of 34.
Defenses had to be aware of where Bingo Smith was on the floor because if they lost track of Bingo, it was most likely gonna be a bucket. Bingo was well known for his ability to shoot the basketball really well and he had beautiful form on his jump shot. As a 6'5" guard/small forward, Smith was deadly in the half court or on the break because he could shoot from almost anywhere in the half court yet he was also adept at filling the lane on the break and either finishing strong at the rim or hitting an opportunity jumper.
In the '70s, the Cleveland Cavaliers were coming up and in '75-76, the Cavs had a record of 49-33 and even made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Cavs had players like Bingo Smith, Jim Chones, and Austin Carr. Unfortunately, Jim Chones suffered a broken ankle and many thought that strong Cavs team may have won the championship that year if not for injuries. Bingo was a solid player for the Cavs and he could hit his jumper as a pull up, he could post up and hit his turnaround jumper with touch, or he could catch and shoot. Bingo was also good from the triple threat although he was more inclined to shoot his nice jumper than drive to the hoop. Bobby "Bingo" Smith was a really good player for the Cleveland Cavaliers throughout the '70s and his jump shot was one of the best and most accurate during the decade.
Thanks!
Bingo was 6' 7", 230.
@@AndyZach He may have been but Bingo Smith is listed at 6'5", 196 lbs. I couldn't tell how tall he was and how much he weighed when I watched him play.
One of the pure shooters of the 70s. Not much of a ball handler or a guy who went to the hoop, but he could drill those 15 to 18 footers with anyone.
I’m only here because I just got my ass whooped by bingo smith in 2k25 had to see if this man was legit 😭😭😭
It's fun seeing old games that I used to listen to on the radio. Defenses certainly packed the paint in those days!
I wonder what his three point percentage was in the 1979-1980 season?
28.4%
what song is this?
SUN - Wanna Make Love (1976)
This guy looks good what happened to him.
Jersey retired by the Cavs
He died. Seemed like a cool guy though, apparently he was banned from basketball games at his local fair because he was too good.