Charles Daniel Smith (born July 16, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1988 to 1997. He was an All-American college player for the Pittsburgh Panthers and won an Olympic bronze medal as a member of the United States national team in 1988.

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Charles Smith

Smith performing "Comedy for Cancer", 2016
Personal information
Born	(1965-07-16) July 16, 1965 (age 58) Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight	250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school	Warren Harding (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
College	Pittsburgh (1984–1988)
NBA draft	1988: 1st round, 3rd overall pick
Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers
Playing career	1988–1998
Position	Power forward
Number	54, 6
Career history
1988–1992	Los Angeles Clippers
1992–1996	New York Knicks
1996–1998	San Antonio Spurs
Career highlights and awards
NBA All-Rookie First Team (1989) Second-team All-American – NABC (1988) Big East Player of the Year (1988) 2× First-team All-Big East (1987, 1988) 2× Third-team All-Big East (1985, 1986) No. 32 retired by Pittsburgh Panthers First-team Parade All-American (1984)
Career NBA statistics
Points	8,107 (14.4 ppg)
Rebounds	3,246 (5.8 rpg)
Assists	798 (1.4 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Men's basketball Representing  United States Summer Olympics 1988 Seoul National team FIBA World Championship 1986 Spain National team

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As a college player, Smith was named Big East Player of the Year in 1988. He was a member of the University of Pittsburgh's highly touted five-man recruiting class considered the country's best.^[1] Along with power forward Jerome Lane, Smith and the Pitt Basketball Team became a major force in college basketball, opening the 1987–88 season ranked No. 4 nationally and rising as high as No. 2. during Smith's tenure.

He played for the US national team in the 1986 FIBA World Championship, where he won the gold medal,^[2] and at the 1988 Olympics, where he finished with a bronze.

After his college career, the 6'10", 245 lb. power forward was selected third overall in the 1988 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers but immediately traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. He made the 1988 NBA All-Rookie Team by averaging 16 points and 8 rebounds. During his four years with the Clippers where he was among the team's top scorers and rebounders, he averaged 19 points and 7 rebounds. He was later traded to the New York Knicks with Doc Rivers and Bo Kimble for point guard Mark Jackson. Smith was expected to fill the hole at small forward left by Xavier McDaniel after the Knicks failed to re-sign him after their successful 1991–92 season, a role that Smith struggled in as he was primarily a power forward. His knees became more problematic playing small forward around this time. As Smith's stats declined, he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for J. R. Reid before retiring in 1998.

Smith is a Resource Board Member of Family Office Association developing global partnerships. Prior, he was Head of Sports & Entertainment MediaCom and Head of New Business for Midas Exchange, both owned by WPP/GroupM.

After retiring from the NBA, Smith served as Team Representative for the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and then as First Vice President. Smith helped create the NBPA Foundation, a non-profit to support retired players in need. Smith went on to serve as Executive Director of the National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA). Smith produced and executed exhibition games featuring over 40 retired NBA players.

Smith was founder and CEO of New Media Technology Corp. The company was the first to develop and patent customizable applications for video ingestion in 1998. Smith still owns the patent portfolio today.