Nolan Smith

Nolan Derek Smith (born July 25, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach for Tennessee State. He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils before being drafted 21st overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2011 NBA draft. As a junior, he started at shooting guard for Duke's national champion 2010 team. As a senior, he was named a consensus first-team All-American and the ACC Player of the Year.

Early life As a child, Smith frequently attended Washington Bullets practices after his father, then-former NBA player, Derek Smith, took their assistant coach position in 1994. Following the death of his father in 1996, the Bullets made Smith a frequent guest at their home games.

High school career As an eighth grader, Smith played varsity basketball for The Key School in Annapolis, Maryland before moving to St. John's College High School in Washington, D.C. for his freshman season in 2003–04. At St. John's, he was a third-team all-conference pick while averaging 10.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game.

As a sophomore in 2004–05, Smith attended Riverdale Baptist School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. There, he averaged 16 points, six rebounds, eight assists and three steals per game as he led Riverdale to a 33–1 record and subsequently earned third-team All-Metro honors.

As a senior in 2006–07, Smith averaged 22.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.2 steals per game as he led his team to a 40–1 record, tying the school's single season wins record and helping Oak Hill earn the top spot in the final USA Today 2007 Super 25 national rankings. He earned first-team EA Sports and Parade All-American honors and was named to the Les Schwab Invitational all-tournament team after leading Oak Hill to the championship. He also earned McDonald's All-American honors.

College career

Freshman year As a freshman at Duke in 2007–08, Smith played in all 34 games, with one starting assignment as he averaged 5.9 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 14.7 minutes per game. He earned his first collegiate start against Cornell on January 6, 2008, and scored nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, while overall, he scored in double figures six times, including a season-high 21 points against Wake Forest on February 17.

Smith went on to earn NCAA All-Final Four team as he led Duke to an NCAA championship victory. He averaged 16 points and five assists per game in wins over West Virginia and Butler. He was named the 12th ACC Player of the Year in school history after becoming the 11th Duke player to lead the league in scoring. He earned first-team All-ACC and ACC All-Defensive team honors, and NABC and USBWA first-team All-District honors after leading Duke to a 32–5 record and a third consecutive ACC championship. He was also a finalist for the Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award, Oscar Robertson Trophy and Bob Cousy Award. As a rookie, he played 44 games (four starts) and averaged 3.8 points, 1.4 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game.

In July 2012, Smith joined the Trail Blazers for the 2012 NBA Summer League, but managed just two games after he was ruled out for the rest of the competition on July 17 when he received an elbow to the head from Rockets' swingman Zoran Dragić while driving to the hoop. He was carried out on a stretcher and the game was called off with 27 seconds left to play. Later that day, after tests came back normal, he was released from Las Vegas hospital.

On January 6, 2013, Smith was assigned to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League. On January 9, he was recalled by the Trail Blazers after competing in both of Idaho's games at the 2013 NBA D-League Showcase in Reno. He averaged 22.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.0 steals in 38.0 minutes per game as he was named Showcase honorable mention honors. He finished his sophomore season with averages of 2.8 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 40 games.

Cedevita (2013–2014) In July 2013, Smith joined the Boston Celtics for the 2013 NBA Summer League where he played just one game and scored four points.

On August 18, 2013, Smith signed a one-year deal with Cedevita Zagreb of the Croatian League. He gained a lot of media attention in the country after hitting a buzzer beater three-pointer with 0.6 seconds left in the semi-final of the ABA League Final Four, securing his team a spot in the 2014–15 Euroleague, and leaving a Serbian legendary club Partizan out of the Euroleague for the first time after 14 years, and the first time since ULEB takeover of the competition in 2000.

Galatasaray (2014) In July 2014, Smith joined the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 2014 NBA Summer League where he averaged 4.6 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in five games.

On August 29, 2014, Smith signed a one-year deal with Galatasaray Liv Hospital of the Turkish Basketball League. On October 19, 2014, in a Turkish League game against Banvit, he threw a towel while being subbed out, after which head coach Ergin Ataman expelled him from the arena. He later apologized for this incident. He later parted ways with Galatasaray on October 27, 2014.

Delaware 87ers (2014–2015) On November 26, 2014, Smith was acquired by the Delaware 87ers of the NBA Development League. On January 15, 2015, he was waived by the 87ers.

Coaching career Following his playing career, Smith joined the Duke Blue Devils coaching staff under head coach Mike Krzyzewski. After being hired in February 2016, Smith spent two years as a special assistant and three years as director of basketball operations & player development. In 2021, he was named a Duke assistant coach.

In six years on the Duke coaching staff, the team won 159 of 206 games. In 2022, the team made the Final Four. During those six years, Smith helped coach a total of 25 players who went on to the NBA, including the following first-round draft picks: Jayson Tatum, Luke Kennard, Harry Giles, Marvin Bagley III, Wendell Carter Jr, Grayson Allen, Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett, Cam Reddish, Jalen Johnson, Paolo Banchero, Mark Williams, AJ Griffin, and Wendell Moore.

Following the 2021–22 season, Smith left Duke to become an assistant coach for the Louisville Cardinals under their new head coach Kenny Payne. Payne had known Smith's father, Derek Smith, who had starred for the Louisville's 1980 championship team before a nine-year career in the NBA.

Louisville won only 12 of 64 games during the ensuing two years, and the entire staff was fired after the 2023–24 season.

In September 2024, Smith was hired as an assistant coach at Memphis.

In July 2025, Smith was hired as the head coach at Tennessee State, replacing Penny Collins, who departed for a position in the NBA.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Euroleague

College

Head coaching record

Personal life Smith is the son of Monica Smith and the late Derek Smith. He has one older sister, Sydney Smith. He grew up with Michael Beasley and remains friends with him. In 2021, Nolan began co-hosting the "Power Check Ball" podcast alongside Marc Isenberg. Smith is married to UNC alumna Cheyna Elliott. They were married in 2017 and have three children, Camryn, Derek "Deuce,” and Kai