Phil Smith

David Hegler
7 minutes ago
3 min read

Phil Smith used basketball to get out of the San Francisco projects. Along the way, the shooting guard for the 1975 world champion Golden State Warriors paved the way for future stars coming out of his neighborhood. This is his story.

The Early Years

Phil Smith was born on April 22, 1952 in San Francisco's Filmore District. The second of nine children, he quickly found basketball and used it as a vessel to get out of the projects. He starred in basketball and football at George Washington High School. As a mid-semester graduate, Smith was averaging 16 point and 13 rebounds a game by the time he accepted a basketball scholarship to the University of San Francisco in the middle of his senior year.

He showed a lot of promise on the freshman team in the winter of 1971 and blossomed into a three year star on varsity soon after. As a sophomore in 1971-1972, he averaged 15 points a game for the WCAC regular season champions and was more determined than ever when they lost in the opening round of the NCAA tournament to Long Beach State.

As a junior, he raised his scoring average to 18.7 points per game while leading the Dons to another WCAC regular season title and helping his teammates beat Long Beach State 77-67 in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Alas, they ran into a UCLA juggernaut the next game, losing 54-39 at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. After that year, he was chosen by the Virginia Squires in the ABA draft, but he declined, seeing a college degree as more fruitful than the early pay checks.

Apart from being named an All American, the rest of his senior year felt like dévà vu for Phil Smith. Again, he led the team in scoring (20.7 points), again he led the team to a WCAC regular season championship, again they defeated their opening round opponent (New Mexico 64-61) and again, they lost to UCLA (83-60) in the next round.

After his eligibility ran out, Phil Smith was drafted by the Golden State Warriors 29th overall in the 1974 NBA Draft. He wasn't going to have to travel far to continue his basketball career after all.

Golden State and Beyond

Phil Smith was relatively quiet as a rookie, averaging just 7.7 point and 1.8 assists per game. Still, his 47.6% shooting was promising. He picked up the pace once the team reached the NBA Finals. His 20 points sparked a comeback in Game 1 at Washington. While he failed to score even half that the rest of the series, the rest of his teammates picked up the slack, sweeping the Bullets to claim their first championship in California.

Buoyed by his stellar performance in Game 1, Phil Smith averaged 20. points, 4.4 assists and 4.6 rebounds the next year while earning his first All-Star invitation. The following year, he upped his shooting percentage to 47.9% while averaging 19 points, four assists and four rebounds a game while earning his second straight All-Star selection. It would be his last appearance in the mid-season game.

Although he failed to make the All-Star Game for the rest of his career, Phil Smith continued his ascent in the Warriors' offense for the rest of the decade, averaging better than 19 points and 4.4 assists per game in both 1978 and 1979 while never dipping below 47.2% shooting.

Along the way, he helped inspire numerous athletes from his old neighborhood. Future NBA players such as Bill Cartwright were very inspired whenever they watched him play with the hometown team, seeing how a man who was once in a similar situation clawed his way to the top.

His career was forever altered in the middle of 1979-1980 when he tore his Achilles. At the time, he was averaging 15.5 points, 3.7 assists and 2.9 rebounds. After that year, he was traded to the San Diego Clippers. All through 1980-1981, he regained his form, averaging 16.8 points and a career high 4.9 assists.

He lasted just a year and a half in San Diego as he was traded to the Seattle Supersonics midway through 1981-1982. With his shooting average and percentage rapidly dipping, Phil Smith retired after 1983. He died on April 29, 2002 from bone marrow cancer.

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