JR Smith: The Man, The Myth, The Comeback...
Written by Malcolm Lemmons
JR Smith has been labeled many things throughout his lengthy basketball career.
Misunderstood.
Misfit.
Misjudged.
But the one thing you can never call him is inauthentic.
The two-time NBA champion who was drafted out of high school at the age of 19, is the subject of a four-part docuseries called Redefined: J.R. Smith. The series highlights the now-retired hooper as he pursues a college education and a newfound golf career at North Carolina A&T, a historical Black university in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Many athletes struggle to figure out what their next step is going to be. JR Smith was no different even after having a ton of success in the NBA, winning two championships with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers. Part of the reason why he wanted to go back to school was to find out who he was outside of basketball.
“Just self-worth. Feeling like I still want to grow. I have so much to do as a person, in so many ways. I can get better. Because I’ll definitely be the first one to say I don’t know everything. And it’s tough when you retire from doing something you love for so long, and then you just can’t do it anymore, or you don’t want to do it anymore.”
Going back to school is one thing, but joining a new team in a new sport was another challenge he had to face. Golf, which started off as a hobby for him while he was playing in the NBA, quickly became a way of life and a refuge as it is for many athletes.
“It’s a bucket list for me, to live my dream twice. First, to play professional basketball and now play another sport in college. I’m excited about it, but I’m not content.”
Throughout the film, he also discusses his past struggles in the classroom growing up and dealing with dyslexia saying, “The most important thing to learn from the documentary is the power to overcome your insecurities, or things you can really second-guess or feel self-conscious about, or just something that brought trauma to your life. For me, as a kid, my academics were always last on my list because I was never good at school.”
Obviously, it’s not often that a veteran professional athlete goes back to school let alone plays a sport while in college. Still, JR is challenging the narrative by redefining what athletes are capable of achieving even though he’s not thinking about the naysayers or doubters. “I’m not doing this to prove nobody else wrong... I’m really proving to myself that I can do it.”
JR is leveraging his story to inspire others, redefining himself, and creating a new purpose for life after the game. Not too bad for a second step. The docuseries will officially air on Amazon Prime on April 4th and is produced by JR’s former teammate LeBron James and LeBron’s business partner Maverick Carter under their Uninterrupted banner.