J.R. Smith is one of the more interesting personalities in the NBA. He’s never been a player that soaks up the spotlight through what he says to a camera, but with the way he plays on the court. Smith is a gunner in the truest sense of the word. When he gets the ball it’s going to fly, most likely in the form of a step back, and he’s going to accept the results make or miss. Infuriating to traditional fans that want to see a player take the best shot, and exciting to the non-traditional that love watching Smith cook, his divisiveness as a player makes him that much more interesting.
Recently, VICE Sports did a Ride Along with Smith where they discussed his time with the New York Knicks, the first tattoo he ever received, and how he’s been so successful in the NBA. There’s a lot of fun tidbits in the video, but nothing is as great as the story of how he got his first tattoo.
“It’s a picture of me dunking. Well, it was a picture of Vince Carter dunking and I just changed the number and put my name on the back.”
Smith also goes into how playing with the New York Knicks was the best decision of his life, the friendship he built with Carmelo Anthony, and how angry he was to be traded away from New York to Cleveland. Ever wanted to know what it’s like for a player to be traded away from an environment he enjoys to one that he might not be as fond of? Well, Smith pulls no punches despite the fact that he was being traded to a team that had LeBron. Of course, he still had some nice things to say about his current situation in Cleveland as well.