87 Randy Smith
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An unlikely player to make the list this high, and one I will admit that I overrated. But Randy Smith has also been one of the most underrated players, largely forgotten by most NBA fans.
Smith starred at Buffalo State College in Buffalo, New York. He put up spectacular numbers of 25 points and 15 rebounds as a freshman. He played four years at BSC before going pro. In 74 career college games he averaged 23 points and 13 rebounds.
Because of his connections to the area he was drafted by the Buffalo Braves with the 104th pick in the 1971 draft, making him one of the best draft day steals in history. Not many people gave Smith a chance to make the Braves roster, yet some how he did. Smith not only ended up making the roster but became a key part of the Braves rotation. His rookie year was a solid one which seen him average 13 points and 5 rebounds.
Smith became a full time starter his second year and after being paired with Bob McAdoo helped the Braves slowly turn things around. The Braves made the playoffs for the first time just three years after their creation, and would make the playoffs three consecutive years. In 1975 the Braves won 49 games which is still the most in franchise history. Most consider this run in the mid 1970s to be the best run in franchise history, and outside of these 3 seasons the Clippers have only 4 other playoff appearances total.
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Smith continued to improve each season and in 1976 was selected to his first all-star team. He was selected again two years later when he averaged a career high 25 points a game. He scored 27 points for the Eastern squad in 1978 and was named all-star MVP.
The Braves moved to San Diego the following season and Smith went with them. He played only one season with the Clippers in Southern California before he was traded the Cleveland Cavaliers. He played two solid seasons with the Cavs but like every other decent Cavs player at the time the ownership in Cleveland solid him to the Knicks for pennies on the dollar.
Smith played only one season with the Knicks before becoming a free agent. He had a hard time finding a team and missed the first two regular season games in 1982 ending his streak of 906 consecutive games played, which was the longest streak in NBA history until it was broken by AC Green nearly 15 years later.
The Clippers offered Smith another contract and he returned to San Diego. He had a solid partial season there but wanted to play for a winner and was released by the Clippers so he could sign with the Hawks. He played 15 games with the Hawks before calling it a career.
Smith played in 976 career games and owned averaged of 19 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Following his playing days in the NBA, Smith became a league executive helping former players in need. He died of a massive heart attack in June of 2009.
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