From New Zealand to Le Portel, the surprising journey of Mike Smith, ESSM’s new point guard

ESSM Le Portel has found its point guard for the 2025-2026 season. The club officially announced this Friday, July 11, the arrival of Michael « Mike » Smith (1.79 m, 28 years old).

✍🏾 𝙼𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎 ✨

Coming from @KSKBasket 🇹🇷 Mike Smith (27 years old, 1.79m) signs with ESSM Le Portel.

The Chicago native averaged 15.9 points and 4.4 assists in the Turkish league.

𝕎𝕖𝕝𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕄𝕚𝕜𝕖❗

More info: https://t.co/eCy9es9yGl pic.twitter.com/i3oZLQrrlO

— ESSM Le Portel (@ESSMbasket) July 11, 2025

An intriguing end of season in Turkey

This point guard was trained in his native Illinois before becoming the figurehead at Columbia University and finishing his NCAA career with Michigan’s renowned program. Undrafted in 2021, he first went through the G-League before experiencing his first professional experience abroad in New Zealand’s modest championship. Since then, he has traveled extensively and arrives in the North after a successful experience with the well-respected Turkish club Pinar Karsiyaka. In BSL, he arrived in late March when the roster had lost several players due to unpaid salaries. This situation allowed him to take on responsibilities, averaging 15.9 points on 40.6% shooting (including 28.1% from 3-point range), 4.4 assists and 2.9 turnovers in 32 minutes over nine games.

Before that, Mike Smith played in Poland in 2022-2023 with Bydgoszcz, followed by a brief stint in Germany with Rostock Seawolves (six games) in 2023-2024, then signed with Serbian club KK Borac Cacak. His modest performance in the Serbian national championship (8.1 points on 40.3% shooting and 1.6 assists in 22 minutes) didn’t discourage Pinar Karsiyaka from launching him in a league as prestigious as the BSL. This stint must have convinced his future coach, Kenny Grant, who praised his leadership qualities and selflessness on the court in the club’s press release:

« Mike Smith is a true leader. He will set the tone both offensively and defensively. Intensity, basketball IQ, and impact on both ends of the floor. He can hurt you in many ways: transition speed, shooting ability, and the capacity to make his teammates shine »

After Tyshaun Crawford and Lucas Fischer, Mike Smith is ESSM Le Portel’s third signing for the 2025-2026 season.