What team do jr smith play for

Before J.R. Smith signed with the Lakers towards the end of last season, his career seemed to be over. Declining numbers, arguments with management, and then unceremoniously ditched by the Cavs, the team he’d helped win a ring in 2016; no one thought Smith would make an NBA roster ever again.

Then he was invited for a workout with the Lakers in February of 2020. Redemption? Not quite, with the team signing Dion Waiters instead. It seemed like the final nail in the coffin until the Lakers actually signed him five months later.

He had the fairy-tale ending, reuniting with former Cleveland teammate Lebron James to win another NBA title. His role changed, playing small minutes and notching numbers far below his career averages. He became a leader, a mentor from the bench. Perhaps not the quintessential comeback story, but J.R. Smith’s career has never followed the traditional route.

The question is: have we seen the last of J.R. Smith in an NBA uniform?

Smith Forgets to Score 

You can’t have a conversation about J.R. Smith without mentioning that moment. Perhaps one of the most infamous plays in NBA history is when he ‘forgot’ to score in Game 1 of the 2018 Finals. In crunch time against the Warriors, the Cavs shooting guard grabbed a crucial offensive rebound. With the score tied at 107, it was a perfect opportunity for the Cavs to try and seal the deal.

The problem? J.R. Smith didn’t realize what the score was. He thought the Cavs were ahead, and dribbled the ball away from the basket. As Lebron James desperately tried to call a time-out, the Cavs put up a terrible shot as the buzzer hit. The moment is now one of the legendary NBA memes.

The Cavaliers went on to lose the game and the series, with the Warriors claiming a famous sweep. While he played for the Cavs for another season, the play undoubtedly played a role in Smith leaving the team. When a fan asked whether he’d like his jersey retired by Cleveland, he responded with a simple, “naw not the way it ended!”.

Always an Enigma

J.R. Smith is (was?) a solid NBA player. He won the NBA’s 6th Man of the Year Award in the 2012-13 season, proved to be a reliable contributor to Lebron’s Cavaliers, and was always good for buckets beyond the arc.

But he’s always been an enigma, on and off the court. He’s one of the streakiest shooters in NBA history, which can be great, like during Game 7 of the 2016 Finals, but it also means he’s not a reliable performer. He’s also been arrested more often than any other NBA player, once for grabbing a phone from a fan and breaking it (after the fan refused to stop filming, it must be said).

Smith is known as a big-time gambler, with rumors saying he spends much of his free time playing poker in casinos or online. This reputation probably stems from a 2010 house robbery, where he lost expensive watches and other items, his Mercedes was damaged, and a staggering $15,000 of gambling money. Someone would ask who carries 15k in cash, neatly tucked away in a briefcase? Well… J.R. Smith does. However, his fans around the world understand his gambling passion, as they themselves often look for ways to spend their money playing casino games, both in brick and mortar, or what’s currently becoming more popular. As noted, the latter are known to mimic the experience of Macau or Vegas casinos, but in the online world. That being said, here is a chance you’ve met JR Smith, or your other idol around the same table without even knowing.

When he was in China, he was called the “Chinese Michael Jordan”. But he also missed a lot of practice. It ended in a legal dispute (80+ missed practices will do that to you), resulting in over $1 million of fines. He also brawled with fans, delayed the team bus, and randomly disappeared to London once.

With this baggage, it’s perhaps understandable that it took that long for the Lakers to decide and sign him. And it’s the same baggage that makes it unlikely he will ever return to the NBA, not to mention his increasingly declining productivity.

“I did It My Way” 

For 19 months, J.R. Smith was in a dark place. He admitted that he was depressed, didn’t want to play video games, didn’t want to play basketball. His career was over, but he wasn’t ready. It was premature, pushed out instead of walking out.

When the Lakers signed him, it ended with what Lakers coach Frank Vogel called “a great story of redemption”. Smith wasn’t the high-scoring streaky shooter of yesteryear, but he played the role in his own way. He helped that team win the title, no question.

His career, if it’s over, ended his way. And maybe that’s enough to keep Smith from attempting yet another comeback. He walked away with a ring, embracing one of the best players in NBA history as they shared another title, and he played his part. Why risk the fairytale ending?

Former National Basketball Academy (NBA) star, JR Smith is all set to make his college golf debut at the age of 36. At the Elon's Phoenix Invitational at the Alamance Country Club. The tournament will see its opening day on October 11, where Smith has been rewarded a tee time after qualifying by just one stroke in practice. Smith played 16 seasons with some of the high-profile teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, and many others.

Smith joined the North Carolina A&T's golf team in 2021, following his retirement from NBA. He enrolled in school and was later given the green signal by the NCAA to play on the golf team in August. As reported by GolfMagic, while speaking to reporters at the Wyndham Championship earlier during the season, Smith said, 'Golf is one of those games that has you feeling really high and or can bring you down to your knees and humble you. And to have that feeling and knowing that all of the game's pretty much on my own hands, and I don't have to worry about teammates to pass the ball and receiving passes and playing defense ' I can play my game and just have fun."

JR Smith has won two NBA Championships in 2016 and 2020

Smith also put out a tweet in August, saying that he always hated school as a kid, however, was ready for the challenge this time. The North Carolina A&T earlier announced that the 36-year-old player will play his first collegiate tournament on Monday and Tuesday at the Phoenix Invitational. The tournament will take place at the Alamance Country Club, which has a par 71 layout measuring 6,867 yards.

Jr Smith made his NBA debut in 2004 with the New Orleans Hornets, straight after his high school. He was the 18th pick in the drafts in his debut year and went on to play for teams like Denver Nuggets, Zhejiang Golden Bulls, and the New York Knicks before joining Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015. He went on to pick his first NBA title by winning the 2016 NBA Championships with Cleveland Cavaliers. He moved from Cleveland to Los Angeles Lakers in 2020 and picked his second NBA Championships in 2020 with the Lakers.

(Image: AP)