Before entering their first two years in the NBA, all players are required to attend the ‘Rookie Transition Program,’ a four-day orientation aimed at educating future NBA stars about the league’s internal rules, state laws, interactions with franchise and non-franchise personnel, financial investments, and more. While some heed this guidance, others do not.
JR Smith falls into the latter category. The former player earned over $91 million during his 16 seasons in the NBA. Now retired and at the age of 38, he regrets squandering a significant portion of his fortune and, more importantly, failing to use it to assist others.
“We’d rather go throw $60,000 in the strip club than go feed 2,500 people in the hood,” he noted.
“I could’ve fed my whole community ten times over with the money I was just [paying fines for] being late on the bus. I was so wrapped into me, I got that Euro-centric mindset: I need this designer jacket, I need these jeans, I need this bookbag, I need to be looking like this because the vets got this, I’m pushing this car.
“Why? Who am I impressing? I’m not even fulfilled with me. They look up to me, so when they think ‘Oh, this is cool, this is what they say he did,’ they think that shit is cool.
“Look at what we’re going for: strip clubs, getting high, setting people up, killing people. Look at what we glorify. And they put millions and millions of dollars into this. Record labels put billions of dollars into this and it sells. And we still get raped off of entertainment.”
Smith participated in 977 NBA games, representing the New Orleans Hornets, Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Lakers. He averaged 12.4 points per game and boasted a three-point shooting percentage of 37.3 percent.
However, Smith is perhaps most notably remembered for a critical play during the 2018 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors when he made a costly error in the closing moments.
Following an offensive rebound, he chose to dribble out the clock instead of attempting a shot or driving to the basket, resulting in widespread criticism, particularly from his teammate at the time, LeBron James.
Having retired since 2020, Smith is now dedicated to playing golf. He believes that had he discovered golf at a younger age, he might not have pursued a basketball career, as golf places a much greater emphasis on individual performance, whereas in basketball, it is easy to deflect blame. He is currently working to dispel his reputation as a troublemaker.
“People already have so many misconceptions of who I am and so many things that they already have an opinion about before they even meet me,” he noted.
“Men and women still tell me to this day, I didn’t think you were like that. Like, I thought you were way more arrogant or way more, you know, just self absorbed or something like that. It’s just, no.
“I mean, I acknowledge that there are other people out here in this world and it’s not just about me. I understand everybody has feelings and emotions and everything else.”
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