Randy Smith (basketball)

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Randolph "Randy" Smith (born December 12, 1948 in Bellport, New York) is a retired American professional basketball player who set the NBA record for consecutive games played. From 1972-1982, Smith played in every regular season game, en route to the record of 906 straight games (since broken by A.C. Green).

Smith was an outstanding all-around athlete at Buffalo State College, earning All-American honors in three sports: basketball, soccer and track. (In high school on Long Island, Smith set a state high jump record of 6-foot-6.) However, it was on the basketball court that Smith shown brightest, teaming with Durie Burns to lead the Bengals to three straight conference championships, including a trip to the Final Four of the NCAA Division III Tournament in 1970. He has two sons, Brandon and Dominique, and a daughter named Terran.

By national standards, Buffalo State was a small, obscure school, and it was only because of the local connection that Smith was drafted to the NBA at all. In 1971, he was selected by the Buffalo Braves in the seventh round (104th pick overall) of the NBA Draft.

Smith surprised everyone in training camp, and he made the final roster cuts. Despite standing only 6-foot-3, he was assigned to play forward. He averaged 13.4 points per game in his rookie season.

Smith continued to improve beyond expectation, drawing on his tremendous speed, quickness and leaping ability. Playing alongside league scoring champion Bob McAdoo, Smith averaged 21.8 points per game in the 1975-76 season, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team.

The highlight of Smith’s career was the 1978 All-NBA All-Star Game, where he came off the bench to lead all scorers with 27 points, and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.

Smith played for seven years for the Braves until the franchise was shifted to the San Diego Clippers in 1978. That first year with the Clippers, Smith had his fourth consecutive season averaging over 20 points per game.

In 1979, Smith was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he was named team captain and played for two years. He spent the 1981 season with the New York Knicks, before moving back to San Diego for another season. Smith retired from professional basketball in 1983.