SWISH JR SMITH FULL
SWISH JR SMITH PROFESSIONAL

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. Smith was selected by the New Orleans Hornets with the 18th overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft.

SWISH JR SMITH PROFESSIONAL

Professional career New Orleans Hornets (2004–2006) 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. He committed to play college basketball at North Carolina after a lengthy recruiting battle. He focused strictly on basketball as a senior. Smith was highly rated in football and also played baseball. He played two seasons of basketball for Lakewood before transferring to Saint Benedict's Preparatory School in 2002. Having not competed in sports for either school, he was permitted to transfer to Lakewood High and repeat his freshman year. 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. In 2021, Smith enrolled at North Carolina A&T State University, where he joined their Aggies golf team.īorn in Freehold Borough, New Jersey, Smith grew up in the Clarksburg section of Millstone Township, New Jersey. Smith won two NBA championships, with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020. He has also played for the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks, as well as for the Zhejiang Golden Bulls of the Chinese Basketball Association. He entered the NBA out of high school after being selected in the first round of the 2004 NBA draft with the 18th overall pick by the New Orleans Hornets. Smith played high school basketball at New Jersey basketball powerhouse Saint Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark.

McDonald's All-American Game Co-MVP ( 2004)Įarl Joseph ' J.R.' Smith III (born September 9, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player.

But even that story comes off as endearing given the complete 180 Smith has done-an about-face, make no mistake, that only he could have made.Smith with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018 Granted, Smith is still the guy who sprayed $23,000 worth of champagne during the Cavaliers’ championship celebration. It has instead been replaced by one of a doting father and enthusiastic husband-of a self-aware adult who is aware of his basketball mortality and is ready to capitalize on and appreciate all the time in the spotlight that he has left.

Nearly gone is the image of a party-goer and playboy wannabe.

The anecdotes that continue to trickle out from his personal life, meanwhile, are pretty surreal. Playing beside LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love has forced him into a reserve role, as a spot-up shooter, and as someone who can increase his playing time and value by working his ass off on the defensive end–which he did for most of 2015-16. He was no longer this long-two-chucking isolation specialist, because he couldn’t be. Being traded to the Cavaliers sort of put him in his place. The upcoming signature backpack had me at “Sprayground.”Įven cooler is the progression of Smith as a player and person. You can bet the apparel at Team Swish is going to be lit. This is really, really, ridiculously dope.

SWISH JR SMITH FULL

winning a championship, everything came full circle.” It’s been 15 years since I’ve been working on this project here. “The store is very special,” Earl told the NBPA.

The store, which Earl himself began building five years ago, features apparel, footwear and accessories, one of which is Smith’s upcoming signature backpack with Sprayground. Now, starting with a vision that father and son had together years ago, Smith will be opening his own Team Swish lifestyle store, which is slated for the end of the month. Working with his father, Earl, a mason contractor, Smith assisted on everything from senior citizen homes to Best Buy and Sports Authority locations-up until he was around 17 years old. Smith was putting in work on the basketball court, he was sweating through long days in the construction business-starting at around five years old. Smith does have his own retail venture to help build his nest egg, but he could most definitely use the likely eight-figures-per-year contract the Cavaliers will inevitably sign him to. He has his own retail venture to fall back on. Smith doesn’t need a new contract from the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Swish jr smith