J.R. Smith

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Born in Freehold Borough, New Jersey, Smith grew up in the Clarksburg section of Millstone Township, New Jersey. He spent five years in high school. A freshman in 1999–2000, Smith went to Steinert High for the first semester and then McCorristin Catholic High for the next, both in New Jersey. Having not competed in sports for either school, he was permitted to transfer to Lakewood High and repeat his freshman year. He played two seasons of basketball for Lakewood before transferring to Saint Benedict's Preparatory School in 2002. Smith was highly rated in football and also played baseball. He focused strictly on basketball as a senior. He committed to play college basketball at North Carolina after a lengthy recruiting battle. However, after winning co-MVP with Dwight Howard at the 2004 McDonald's All-American Game, Smith decided to forgo college and declared for the 2004 NBA draft.

In Their Own Story

The 2016 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors tested Cleveland to its limits. Smith started in all 21 playoff games that season, averaging 11.5 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting from deep with lethal efficiency. In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Atlanta Hawks, he made eight three-pointers and scored 28 points in a decisive 97–89 victory, helping the team sweep the Hawks to reach the Finals. Throughout the championship run, Smith's role was vital; he finished with 65 playoff threes, a mark that stood as a franchise record. On December 13, during the regular season, he overcame a severe shooting slump—having entered the game at career lows of 31% from the field and 32% on threes—to score 17 of his season-high 23 points in the first half against the Memphis Grizzlies. This resilience culminated in Cleveland overcoming a 3–1 deficit to win their first NBA title, with Smith scoring double figures in the final five games of the series.

Reader's Guide

Smith was selected by the New Orleans Hornets with the 18th overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft. As a rookie, Smith was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month three times (January, February, March) and participated in the 2005 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, finishing third. After averaging 10.3 points in 76 games (56 starts) as a rookie, he averaged 7.7 points in 55 games (25 starts) in 2005–06. Smith fell out of favor with Hornets coach Byron Scott due to a poor work ethic. He began the 2005–06 season as the starting shooting guard and ended it out of the rotation. On July 14, 2006, Smith was traded, alongside P. J. Brown, to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Tyson Chandler. Six days later, he was traded again, this time to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Howard Eisley and two second-round draft picks. During his first season in Denver, Smith served a 10-game NBA suspension from December 18 to January 8 following his involvement in the Knicks/Nuggets melee at New York's Madison Square Garden on December 16. He later missed eight games between February 23 and March 11 while recovering from arthroscopic left knee surgery. After struggling in the first four games of the Nuggets' first-round playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs, including going 0-for-12 from 3-point range, Smith was benched for Game 5 of the series. Nuggets coach George Karl reportedly had had enough of Smith's mistakes throughout the series, compounded by Smith's 3-pointer with 25.7 seconds left in Game 4 with Denver trailing 93–89. During the 2007–08 season, Smith established career highs for field goal percentage (.461) and 3-point percentage (.403). During the 2008–09 season, he averaged 15.2 points over 81 games (18 starts), finishing second in voting for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award behind Jason Terry. In February 2009, he participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, finishing third. On April 13, 2009, Smith had a career-high 45 points and franchise-best 11 3-pointers to help the Nuggets clinch the Northwest Division title and home-court edge in the playoffs for the first time in 21 years with a 118–98 win over the Sacramento Kings. On December 23, 2009, Smith scored a season-high 41 points against the Atlanta Hawks, becoming the first NBA player ever to record multiple games of 10+ 3-pointers. He finished the 2009–10 season averaging a then career-high 15.4 points per game.

Did You Know?

• Smith won two NBA championships: with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.
• He was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2013 with the New York Knicks.
• Smith scored a career-high 45 points and made a franchise-best 11 three-pointers for the Nuggets on April 13, 2009.
• In 2021, Smith enrolled at North Carolina A&T State University, where he joined their Aggies golf team.