On Wednesday morning the Washington Wizards traded Ish Smith to the Denver Nuggets, putting the veteran point guard on the verge of etching his name into NBA lore for a very unique reason.
The first time Smith enters a game for the Nuggets, he will break a five-way tie with Chucky Brown, Jim Jackson, Tony Massenburg and Joe Smith to become the sole holder of an NBA record he has spent his entire career chasing.
Smith signed with the Houston Rockets after going undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft, but he was not long in H-town.
After a 28-game stint in Houston that included several assignments in the D-League with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Smith was shipped to the Memphis Grizzlies at the trade deadline.
Smith would play just 15 games in Memphis before being waived in December of 2011.
The Golden State Warriors picked Smith up two days after he was waived, but he lasted only six games in the Bay.
After being waived by the Warriors, Smith signed with the Orlando Magic, where he would find the first semblance of stability in his then-burgeoning career.
Smith lasted the rest of the 2011-12 season in Orlando and even re-signed in the summer to stay with the Magic for the 2012-13 season.
Smith’s 56-game tenure with the Magic was his longest up to that point in his career, but he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks at the 2013 trade deadline.
Smith played out the remainder of the 2012-13 season in Milwaukee before the Bucks sent him to the Phoenix Suns in the summer.
In Phoenix, Smith played an entire season with one team for the first time in his career but was waived after the 2013-14 season.
After being let go by the Suns, Smith entered the most tumultuous period of his whirlwind of a career.
Over the next two seasons, Smith would play for four teams — 30 games for the Oklahoma City Thunder, 27 games for the New Orleans Pelicans and 75 games for the Philadelphia 76ers over two stints.