Firebirds Behind the Flames (Part 2)

Happy Monday! Today, we’re continuing our series from last week, Firebirds Behind the Flames. For those new to Firebird Focus this week, Firebirds Behind the Flames is a series where we introduce you to the people who make magic happen behind the scenes of the Firebirds. Last week I introduced Petey Dorris (you can read that issue here). Today, it’s time to meet Chris Smith!

Chris has been a sports statistician since 2007 and the Raleigh Firebirds Chief Statistician since 2019. It’s an extremely important role, as Chris coordinates all score table activities and personnel including scoreboard/score clock operator, shot clock operator, official scorebook, and LiveStats. That’s a lot of stuff to keep track of!

In professional basketball, stats are incredibly important. However, in the case of the TBL, stats play a crucial role. Putting up good stats is what gets players noticed by teams overseas and in the G League, and is their path to continue playing basketball in the future. The Firebirds are a fast-paced team that not only wins games but has several players with impressive stat lines every game. This makes it all the more important to have someone who knows exactly what they’re doing at the scorer’s table.

Chris isn’t just the best statistician that the Firebirds could ask for, however; he’s one of the best statisticians in the country. The TBL has Chris help train other statisticians across the league, to ensure the highest quality for all games. His abilities were further recognized in 2023 when he won the TBL Statistician of the Year award.

Next time you’re at a Firebirds game, look for Chris Smith behind the desk. He’s the one powering the incredible scoring machine, and making sure every player gets credit for what they’re doing on the court.

I hope you enjoyed, and I’ll talk to you on Friday!

-Tex