Last month, Katie Smith was announced as one of seven members of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2018. On Saturday, the former Ohio State guard was honored once again, as she earned a spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
She is the all-time leading scorer in womens professional basketball having scored more than 7,000 points during her career in the ABL and WNBA. We congratulate 2x @WNBA Champion @katiesmith30. #18HoopClass
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) March 31, 2018
: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images pic.twitter.com/CygVRgwShU
Smith – who is recognized as one of the top players in program history – was inducted into the Ohio State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001. She led the Buckeyes to the NCAA Tournament final as a freshman in 1993 and was named Big Ten Player of the Year in 1996.
After her time in Columbus, Smith went on to become the all-time leading scorer in women's professional basketball history. She spent 15 seasons in the WNBA where she scored 6,452 points and led the Detroit Shock to WNBA titles in 2006 and 2008. Smith was honored as the Finals MVP for her performance in 2008. She became the head coach of the WNBA's New York Liberty last October.
Smith, who is back in Columbus this weekend participating in festivities surrounding the Women's Final Four, expressed her gratitude for the Hall of Fame recognition in a Saturday evening tweet.
Its a great honor to get the call into the @Hoophall Words fail to capture my gratitude. This has only been made sweeter celebrating it in the Buckeye State at this historic Womens Final Four #ThisMatters @wbca1981 #FourUs #WFinalFour https://t.co/02uu4iMZ68
— Katie Smith (@katiesmith30) March 31, 2018
Other 2018 Naismith inductees include NBA greats Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Grant Hill and Ray Allen, among others.
