Smush Parker - our official website for Miami Heat Guard, Smush Parker

    Smush Parker Home
    Smush Parker Bio
    Smush Parker Stats
    Smush Parker Sitemap
    Smush Parker Pics
    Smush Parker Video
    Smush Parker News

    Contact Us

Smush Parker

William Henry "Smush" Parker (born June 1, 1981 in New York, New York) is a professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA. Smush played shooting guard in college, but moved to point guard in the NBA. The name "Smush" was originally his father's nickname and was handed down to him by his mother, who died when Parker was eight years old.

Parker went undrafted following his sophomore season at Fordham University in which he was Second Team All A-10 and resided on the first floor of Alumni Court North dormitory. He had previously attended Southern Idaho Community College and has played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Suns, and Aris Thessaloniki (FIBA) before signing a contract with the Lakers during the 2005 offseason.

Little-known entering the 2005 season, Parker has gained recognition as the starting point guard for the Lakers under coach Phil Jackson.

While many experts thought that either newly-signed veteran Aaron McKie or Sasha Vujacic would start at point guard, Parker became a surprise starter in the Lakers' season opener against the Denver Nuggets and went on to score at least 20 points in four of his first five Laker games. This impressed Jackson, and Parker found himself in the starting line-up. In the 2005-06 season Parker started in all 82 regular season games averaging 11.5 points.

His recent signing with the Miami Heat has him back on proving grounds and time will only tell when we will see him shine again as a formidable piece on the Miami Heat offense.

Before stepping foot on an NBA floor, Parker honed his basketball skills at "The Cage" on Manhattan's West Fourth Street, earning the nickname "Grim Reaper" (which he also has tattooed on his right arm). Parker also has the nicknames "NBA Live" and "The Aviator", which he got from Randy Cruz, one of the co-founders of the Hoops In The Sun basketball league at Orchard Beach.

As a high school student, Parker also modeled for Nautica apparel.