Malachi Smith (basketball)

Malachi Knight-Smith (born December 6, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Memphis Hustle of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Wright State Raiders, Chattanooga Mocs, and Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Malachi Smith

No. 18 – Memphis Hustle
Position	Shooting guard
League	NBA G League
Personal information
Born	(1999-12-06) December 6, 1999 (age 25) Evansville, Indiana, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight	205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school	Belleville East (Belleville, Illinois) Belleville West (Belleville, Illinois)
College	Wright State (2018–2019) Chattanooga (2020–2022) Gonzaga (2022–2023)
NBA draft	2023: undrafted
Playing career	2023–present
Career history
2023–2024	Rip City Remix
2024	Wisconsin Herd
2024–present	Memphis Hustle
Career highlights
Lou Henson Award (2022) SoCon Player of the Year (2022) First-team All-SoCon (2022) First-team All-SoCon – Coaches (2021) Second-team All-SoCon – Media (2021) WCC Sixth Man of the Year (2023) Horizon League All-Freshman Team (2019)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

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 for Jazian Gortman.^[13]

Memphis Hustle (2024–present)

On October 9, 2024, Smith was traded to the Memphis Hustle.^[14]

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

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2018–19	Wright State	35	0	15.1	.435	.222	.820	2.9	1.7	.8	.1	5.4
2019–20	Chattanooga	Redshirt
2020–21	Chattanooga	25	25	35.8	.460	.383	.802	8.8	3.3	1.5	.2	16.8
2021–22	Chattanooga	35	34	35.4	.493	.407	.827	6.7	3.0	1.7	.1	19.9
2022–23	Gonzaga	37	1	20.8	.536	.500	.792	3.6	1.4	.9	.0	8.7
Career		132	60	26.0	.485	.410	.815	5.2	2.3	1.2	.1	12.3

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.^[15]