When I started making this video and was reminded that NBA legend Drew Gooden is currently a broadcaster for the Wizards, it got me thinking: did Ish Smith and Drew Gooden ever share the court during their respective journeyman careers?
Gooden and Smith were both part of the forgettable 2012-13 Milwaukee Bucks team that won 38 games, snuck into the playoffs as the eighth seed, and got smashed by the Heatles in the first round. I think this was the year that Brandon Jennings alleged that the Bucks were “gonna win in six”. But neither player played many games for that team; both Gooden and Smith appeared in exactly sixteen games.
Smith was traded at the deadline from the Magic to the Bucks as part of the J.J. Redick deal, a trade that still gets my jimmies rustled to this day. I actually think of it as “The Gustavo Ayon Trade” in my head to lessen the amount of rage I feel. But Smith didn’t have a big role on the team and was collecting a good amount of DNP’s. Meanwhile, I’m pretty sure that Gooden got benched for being garbage; outside of a streak in December, he was playing sporadically or not all. Or maybe that was the year his feet got plantar fasciitised. I don’t remember and I don’t care to remember.
Anyway, I found just one game that both Smith and Gooden appeared in. On April 6, 2013, in the now-demolished Bradley Center in Milwaukee, the Bucks hosted the Toronto Raptors and convincingly beat them by a score of 100-83. Ish Smith played five minutes, scored two points, and got an assist. Drew Gooden played three minutes, scored one point, and got a block. Smith’s layup and Gooden’s free throw were just forty seconds apart. For that brief period of time, Smith and Gooden were allies united in purpose. And then they never played together again.
Alan Anderson led the Raptors with fourteen points. Quincy Acy chipped in 13. Meanwhile, Monta “Have it All” Ellis led all scorers with 22 points on 5-of-14 shooting. I feel bad for anybody who bought tickets to watch that garbage, honestly.
Thus concludes DTB’s history lesson. If you weren’t entertained, you can unsubscribe. But make sure to leave a sarcastic donation on my Patreon first.