Top 59 Quotes & Sayings by J. R. Smith

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American athlete J. R. Smith.

Last updated on April 13, 2025.

Earl Joseph "J. R." Smith III is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Smith played high school basketball at New Jersey basketball powerhouse Saint Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark. 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. 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. Smith won two NBA championships, with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.

American - Athlete | Born: September 9, 1985

Source: Wikipedia

'Where is your million-dollar shirt?' I'm like, 'It's underneath these $25 Hanes T-shirts I've got on.'

J. R. Smith

I think just having everybody know who you are is more of a challenge. More than anything about it is just knowing people are watching. I know who I am, so it's watching things I say, what I do. Even if I'm in line at one of the rest stops or something, it's just being on my Ps and Qs at all times more than anything.

J. R. Smith

If someone told me, 'I'm gonna give you $600 million, but I'm going to take your hair'? Take my hair!

J. R. Smith

Coach Lue always amazed me. I'm like, 'How do you have this much joy coming out of life? You have money, but you don't drink; you don't smoke. All you do is hoop, and you live on a natural high.' But now I know.

J. R. Smith

Everything I do is for my parents, None of this matters without them. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be here... If it wasn't for them, if it wasn't for the structure and the backbone that I have, I wouldn't be able to mess up and keep coming back and sit in front of you as a world champion.

J. R. Smith

I mostly play my dynasty or against someone in the hotel. I don't really like online games. I can't stand people yelling in my ear over a headset. I'd rather just play someone like Dwight Howard out in Orlando or people back home. For games like that, it's cool, but just signing on and playing random people, I hate it.

J. R. Smith

I used to, in the summertime, spend so much money doing a lot of fun stuff. Now, I'm actually consciously trying to save so we can live how we want to live after basketball. I've even sold a few things.

J. R. Smith

I'm not upset about my career; I'm just upset about how my name has been portrayed. A lot of guys have played with Bron and had success. There's nothing I can do about it. I've tried to change my image a million times.

J. R. Smith

I've gone on streaks where I haven't shot the ball well here, but I was always making up for it in other areas, so it wasn't as big. It's just a part of the game. I got to do better with it.

J. R. Smith

Don't get in arguments with your coaches. If you have a certain opinion, express it to the best of your ability. But don't get on his bad side.

J. R. Smith

When you're in New York, there's women galore. At the end of the day, when I'm by myself or even, at times, when there was a woman next to me, I was feeling alone. It was not the same as it is with my wife. The experience is not the same; the time is not the same.

J. R. Smith

I'm always in trouble with Twitter. I don't know what it is. Trying to shake it.

J. R. Smith

I love running the floor and doing crazy dunks. I think I bring a lot of enthusiasm to the team.

J. R. Smith

I've been with some of the most quote-unquote beautiful women in the world. But they're so ugly on the inside.

J. R. Smith

When I grew up, I never - I wasn't allowed to go out. I missed my prom because I went to an AAU tournament and all that stuff. For me, it was basketball, basketball, basketball.

J. R. Smith

It's difficult losing, but it's even more difficult when you didn't make a shot. I could see the ball just didn't go your way on an out-of-bounds play or something like that, but when you're just not making them, it's frustrating.

J. R. Smith

Whenever someone says something bad about you, just confront them on it and just be a man and own up to it. If you said something you shouldn t have said, and it's important to somebody you need to talk to, you need to go talk to them. Be a man. Step up.

J. R. Smith

My dad is easily one of my biggest inspirations to play this game. To hear people talk bad about me, it hurt me because I know it hurts him, and that's not who I am. I know he raised better, and I know I want to do better.

J. R. Smith

I'm good friends with Lee Westwood. Bubba, Rickie Fowler. A few of the top hitters.

J. R. Smith

I've been playing this game, fortunately for me, since I was three years old. That's one of the reasons why this game is so special to me.

J. R. Smith

I feel like my story would've been different had I had a chance to play with Bron when I was 18. I've thought about it countless times.

J. R. Smith

Like, I'll wear a bright sweater with pants that are a more classic color.

J. R. Smith

I've had mental errors before while not shooting the ball well and while shooting the ball well, and vice versa. So I can't compound one on top of the other. It's just a matter of getting out of the groove of shooting bad and just staying more locked in.

J. R. Smith

Usually, it's the guys who want to get better so they can get more playing time who are always in the gym.

J. R. Smith

My parents, my family, that's the biggest inspiration in my life. I've been in a lot of dark spots in my life, and if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be able to get out of it, but they are who they are. They followed me. They yelled at me. They screamed at me. They loved me.

J. R. Smith

Everything I do is for my parents and my family. The car is nice, the house is nice, but none of this matters without them. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here. I don't know where I would be, honestly.

J. R. Smith

Trying to think about the rest of the team over myself or my scoring is something that I never really had to do before.

J. R. Smith

I know a lot of people don't have their parents in their life - their mother, their father - but I've got the best two you could ask for, I swear.

J. R. Smith

Every person that's in the NBA should experience playing in New York at least once in their career.

J. R. Smith

I like Public School and En Noir.

J. R. Smith

That three-foot putt is tough for me right now! I'm not making too many putts.

J. R. Smith

My looks vary, but I definitely think about it and plan. I like to shop, too, so I'm always mixing it up. But normally, I'll be wearing something like a college T-shirt and a sweater, something like that. But I definitely have to plan.

J. R. Smith

My iron game. I get into trouble a lot with my driver, so I tend to hit 3-wood off the tee.

J. R. Smith

You never know when your future wife might be in the stands.

J. R. Smith

My family is always my priority.

J. R. Smith

I definitely want to come back to Cleveland. The coaches, the team, everything about the situation, it's perfect for me.

J. R. Smith

I like to get physical on defense. I like to get up on a guy as much as possible. I actually need to calm down, though.

J. R. Smith

I can't even go down to the park anymore back home in Newark, New Jersey because my homeboys won't let me play. They tell me I'm too big time, too Hollywood, so they won't let me play out there no more.

J. R. Smith

My teammates tell me to shoot the ball when I'm open. I feel like I'm open most of the time, so I shoot it.

J. R. Smith

I went to Moses Malone's golf tournament in Houston, and I've been hooked ever since.

J. R. Smith

I'm into the whole American and New York vibe, not just because that's what's going on around me but because of the fit. A lot of guys are into the European cut, but I can't really pull that off with my body type - I'm tall and have big legs.

J. R. Smith

There's six of us, and they didn't treat any of us different. They loved us the same. They treated us all the same, and I just want to be like them when I grow up.

J. R. Smith

China was the worst place I've ever been in my life.

J. R. Smith

To play at the Mecca of basketball and the Garden every night, it's probably the greatest decision I've ever made to go to New York.

J. R. Smith

When I first came into the league, I followed my parents for everything. Now, I'm really doing stuff on my own.

J. R. Smith

Building stuff. Lifting blocks. That's how I got stronger. I never lifted weights. I just did masonry work with my pops.

J. R. Smith

Winning is obviously the biggest thing. Because if you don't win, nothing really matters. You can have all the money in the world, and they can still call you a loser.

J. R. Smith

If you don't get offended by somebody scoring on you then I don't know what to tell you. That is like somebody breaking into your house and just taking your video game out of your hand and you just let it happen. I know if you do that to me, it ain't going to happen. I love my Xbox.

J. R. Smith

I just try to just roll with the punches. I mean, once the team pretty much starts closing out, just try to get in attack mode, and at the same time, try to find my teammates. It's kind of hard, hitting the shots I was hitting, to try and pass the ball, but you've got to figure out a way.

J. R. Smith

Being down 3-1 [in the Finals] was the worst feeling I've ever experienced in my life.

J. R. Smith

I'd rather take a contested shot than an open shot any day ... It's kind of boring when you take open shots

J. R. Smith

[People asked me] "Where is your million-dollar shirt?" I'm like, "It's underneath these $25 Hanes T-shirts I've got on."

J. R. Smith

I was actually worried about David Ross safety being in Cleveland. I thought I had to be a bodyguard.

J. R. Smith

I'm not worried about Instagram.

J. R. Smith

My motto is, 'When in doubt, shoot the ball'.

J. R. Smith

The reality is I'm kind of like an ocean. Everything is calm, calm, calm. I'm good. When the ball goes up in the air, the waves start rocking.

J. R. Smith

At halftime [of Game 7], one of our oldest guys on the team, James Jones, came to me, and he's like, "Man, it's time for you to do something. You've been sleeping the whole playoffs, the whole final series." First couple of shots I got coming out, I was like, "You know what, I'm gonna shoot it." Fortunately they fell, and we started making our way back.

J. R. Smith

Being down 3-1 [in the Finals] was the worst feeling I've ever experienced in my life. I didn't want to talk to my teammates, I didn't want to talk to my wife, I didn't want to talk to my kids. And to come back from that is a lesson that you can come back from anything.

J. R. Smith

Who? Who is that? (J.R.'s response when asked about opponent Jason Terry.)

J. R. Smith

Top 59 Quotes & Sayings by J. R. Smith

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