NBA: 30 best careers from players who skipped college

30 best careers from players who skipped college – 13. Josh Smith

Josh Smith was one of the most talented players to ever enter the NBA. A top five prospect in his graduating class, he was good enough to skip college entirely and leap straight into the NBA. He could handle the ball and make plays for others, all while being a swiss army knife on defense. He became the youngest player in league history to reach 1,000 career blocks, and once had 10 blocks in a single game. He made $122 million by the time he was 33-years-old.

Josh Smith was one of the most frustrating players to ever enter the league. Despite possessing prodigious skills, he was never able to leverage them to help his team win. On a team stocked with offensive talent, he insisted on handling the ball, a decision that led to 1,715 turnovers in nine seasons with the Atlanta Hawks. Wanting to be the offensive focal point, he left the Hawks and signed with the Detroit Pistons, who eventually cut him and paid him over $5 million for five seasons after that just to get him away from the team.

It’s entirely unclear which description of Josh Smith is more apt; both have to be included. Smith, a high school standout at the NBA’s most important position, was brimming with talent when the Atlanta Hawks took him 17th overall in the 2004 NBA Draft. At times he put that together and was dominant on both ends of the court; at others, he was sloppy, disinterested and ineffective.

By the end of it, Smith played 894 games in 13 seasons for five franchises. He was a 2009-10 All-Defense selection but never made even one All-Star roster. He never delivered on his full potential, but he was certainly far from a bust as well.