J.R. Smith, as a guest on the “I am Athlete” podcast, spoke about a lifestyle he is no longer proud of, expressing a sense of regret.
He played a total of 977 games in his controversial career, making the biggest impact as a player for the Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, and Cleveland Cavaliers. He concluded his career with the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2019/2020 season, where he earned his second NBA championship ring.
He is known as one of the favorite teammates of NBA superstars like LeBron James, with whom he won both of his titles. The first of these championships came after a historic comeback when the Cavaliers were trailing 3-1 in the series against the Golden State Warriors in the 2015/2016 season.
As a guest on the aforementioned podcast, J.R. Smith mentioned some things he is not proud of at all. The entire theme is centered around unnecessary spending of money, and J.R. Smith believes that there were much smarter solutions.
“Everything is measured by money. The five of us sit down and talk about who’s playing for how much money and where. Why did we always have to go to a gym in Los Angeles to train every time? Is that a way to inspire younger generations? We can build schools, gyms, playgrounds at any moment. Who will stop us from doing that if we have the money?
It’s all a matter of perspective. What were we doing instead? I was leaving $60,000 for a night at a strip club. Instead, I could have fed 2,500 people. I was throwing money in clubs, completely drunk, without remembering anything. Now I sit and think about what a fool I was. I could have fed my whole community, and I was late for the team bus and paying fines for stupid reasons.”
Who was I trying to impress?
“It all came down to what we wear, which brands, what cars we drive. Who was I trying to impress? Simply put, I wasn’t satisfied with myself. It all clicked for me after I won my first championship ring. I realized I had everything in the world but wasn’t genuinely happy,” J.R. Smith shared.