Larry Smith (basketball, born 1958)
Larry Smith (born January 18, 1958) is a former American professional basketball player. A 6'8" forward/center from Alcorn State University, Smith spent 13 seasons (1980–1993) in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing for the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, and San Antonio Spurs. Smith, nicknamed "Mr. Mean", received NBA All-Rookie Team Honors in 1981, and would become one of the best rebounders of the 1980s. He had career averages of 9.2 rebounds and 25.9 minutes per game. Smith was affectionally nicknamed and known as "Mr. Mean" throughout his career, especially during his time with the Warriors, due to the stark contrast between him being nice and soft-spoken off the court but always with a serious demeanor and angry scowl on the court while grabbing a rebound. Smith's popularity in Golden State and Houston led to local fan clubs who would attend games wearing hard hats holding up a sign saying "Larry's Local 13". At the end of his career, Smith earned praise from the Houston Rockets coaching staff and fanbase for adequately covering for an injured Hakeem Olajuwon.
Smith playing for the Warriors in 1987-88 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 18, 1958 Rolling Fork, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Simmons (Hollandale, Mississippi) |
| College | Alcorn State (1976–1980) |
| NBA draft | 1980: 2nd round, 24th overall pick |
| Selected by the Golden State Warriors | |
| Playing career | 1980–1993 |
| Position | Power forward |
| Number | 13, 2 |
| Coaching career | 1993–2011 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1980–1989 | Golden State Warriors |
| 1989–1992 | Houston Rockets |
| 1992–1993 | San Antonio Spurs |
| As coach: | |
| 1993–2003 | Houston Rockets (assistant) |
| 2003–2004 | Atlanta Hawks (assistant) |
| 2004–2005 | Los Angeles Lakers (assistant) |
| 2005–2006 | Albuquerque Thunderbirds (assistant) |
| 2006–2007 | Anaheim Arsenal |
| 2007 | Austin Toros (assistant) |
| 2008 | Los Angeles Sparks |
| 2008–2011 | Alcorn State |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| As player
As assistant coach: | |
| Career statistics | |
| Points | 5,904 (6.7 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 8,125 (9.2 rpg) |
| Assists | 941 (1.1 apg) |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
He worked as an assistant coach for Rudy Tomjanovich with the Rockets from 1993 until 2002, helping them capture their back-to-back NBA titles in 1993-94 and 1994-95. After ten years with the Rockets, Smith was hired as the assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks in 2003. In 2004, he was hired by the Los Angeles Lakers to be the assistant coach for Tomjanovich. However, Tomjanovich resigned after 41 games into the 2004–05 season. Smith remained as an assistant coach for interim head coach Frank Hamblen until the end of the season.
After serving as an assistant coach of the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, as the head coach of the Anaheim Arsenal, and as an assistant coach for the Austin Toros in the NBA D-League, Smith was hired to be an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for the 2008 season.
On May 8, 2008, officials made the announcement during a news conference in Vicksburg, Mississippi that Smith has been named as the head basketball coach for Alcorn State University. In 2011, Smith was moved from this position to become director of athletic development for the school.