Adrian “Odie” Smith and the NBA’s most unlikely All-Star MVP

Adrian “Odie” Smith, a former Kentucky Wildcat, UK Hall of Famer, and 1958 NCAA champion, passed away recently. From Farmington, Kentucky, Smith made his way from a three-room schoolhouse in Graves County to the University of Kentucky, playing basketball for Adolph Rupp.

Smith first stopped at Northeast Mississippi Community College to further prove himself on the court after high school, and eventually made it to Lexington, where he lettered for two seasons in 1956-57 and 1957-58. In Smith’s senior year, he and his teammates became known as the “Fiddlin’ Five” and won UK its fourth national championship.

Since Smith’s passing at 89 on April 28, several stories from his playing days have been retold, including one of his proudest accomplishments after his time at Kentucky. Following the ’58 championship year, Smith was drafted in the NBA’s 15th round by the Cincinnati Royals. He wouldn’t suit up for Cincinnati for another three years due to his military service, but eventually became one of the team’s better players, averaging double-digit points over a five-year run and playing alongside Oscar Robertson.

Still, nobody saw Smith’s crowning individual achievement coming in 1966, when he was named MVP of the NBA All-Star Game. In Smith’s only All-Star appearance, he scored 24 points with eight rebounds in 26 minutes, beating out the likes of Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Bill Russell, Jerry Lucas, and several other of the game’s biggest names. That 1996 All-Star Game featured 16 Hall of Famers, and Smith was a last-minute coach’s addition because Cincinnati was the host.

Yet, Adrian “Odie” Smith from Farmington, Kentucky, and the University of Kentucky, won the MVP trophy that night. He also took home a Ford Galaxie convertible, a car he kept for the rest of his life.

“Serioiusly, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy,” said Jerry Lucas, Smith’s Royals teammate.

Other NBA legends from that game remembered Smith’s big night in a TNT feature on Smith during the 2006 All-Star Game, 40 years later. It’s preserved in time on the internet, with more on the 1996 All-Star MVP and his basketball career.

NBA on TNT: “The NBA’s Most Unlikely All-Star Game MVP”