J. R. Smith

JR Smith is married to Jewel Harris since August 8, 2016. They are blessed with three daughters: Demi Smith, Peyton Smith, and Dakota Smith. JR and Jewel were already raising two children when they got married. His daughter Demi helped him propose marriage to Jewel.

His youngest daughter, Dakota, was born five months premature, in January 2017. At the time of birth, she weighed just one pound. It was a very difficult phase for him and his family, but he overcame all odds. Dakota is all healthy and happy now.

JR Smith’s career has been plagued with controversies. In February 2007, he and Carmelo Anthony were involved in a car accident. Nobody was hurt, but it was revealed later that the car Smith was driving belonged to Anthony. Later, in June 2007, he got into another car accident. Smith got away with minor injuries, but his best friend, Andre Bell, who was in the same car, passed away.

Earl Joseph Smith was born in Freehold Borough, New Jersey, on September 9, 1985. Both his parents were connected to sports in their younger years. His father, Earl Smith Jr., too, was a basketball player, but he stopped playing later. His mother, Ida Smith, was a famous cheerleader.

Smith grew up with five siblings: three brothers and two sisters, who were all interested in sports. His eldest brother played football, and both his sisters threw shot put. His younger brothers played football, baseball, and basketball. One of his brothers, Chris Smith, is a professional basketball player.

He grew up in Lakewood, a small town in central New Jersey. He had a keen interest in sports, especially basketball, from the very beginning. In Lakewood, all of his friends and family played sports and were very supportive of each other.

He grew up playing football, baseball, and basketball, and he was good at all of them. However, basketball was always his priority. He played baseball in his early years, but he stopped after ninth grade because he wanted play ‘Amateur Athletic Union’ (AAU) basketball. He started with learning to pass the ball, and then, when he grew up, he was moved to small forward and shooting guard.

He went to ‘Millstone Middle School’ and graduated in 1999. Following this, he attended ‘Steinert High School’ and ‘McCorristin Catholic High School.’ Soon, he moved to ‘Lakewood High School,’ where he played high-school basketball for the first time. He then got transferred to ‘Saint Benedict's Preparatory School,’ where he continued playing basketball.

JR Smith made his professional basketball debut with the ‘New Orleans Hornets.’ In his first season with the ‘Hornets,’ he scored 10.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.9 assists. In 2005, he was named the ‘Western Conference Rookie of the Month’ three consecutive times: in January, February, and March.

In the second season, his numbers fell, and he ended up averaging 7.7 points, 2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists. The team spent a good part of the season in Oklahoma City because of Hurricane Katrina. In 2006, he and forward-center PJ Brown were traded to the ‘Chicago Bulls’ for the star center Tyson Chandler.

In July 2006, He was traded one more time, to the ‘Denver Nuggets,’ for guard Howard Eisley. In February 2007, Smith sustained an injury in his left knee, which required surgery. This led to him missing crucial games for the subsequent weeks. He averaged 13 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in his first season with the ‘Nuggets.’

His performance in the first playoffs of the 2006–2007 season was slightly disappointing. He averaged 12.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists during the season. He also had to face suspension from the team for first three regular-season games of 2007–2008, owing to his role in an incident at a Denver nightclub.

During his second stint with the playoffs, in a first-round matchup with the ‘Los Angeles Lakers,’ he played for 27.0 minutes, averaging 18.3 points per game, on 53.5% shooting. He also had a three-point shooting percentage of 31.8%.

Throughout the course of his career, JR Smith has won several honors. He was part of the ‘CBA All-Star’ team, though he chose not to play. He was named the ‘CBA Scoring Champion’ in 2012. He has also won two ‘NBA’ awards: the ‘NBA Sixth Man of the Year’ in 2013 and the ‘NBA Champion’ in 2016.