He didn't have his shirt on for like three days. Seriously. After the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off the most improbable comeback in NBA history in 2016, J.R. Smith basically decided that clothes were optional. It became the defining image of that summer—a shirtless, tattooed "Swish" celebrating a title that nobody thought was coming to Northeast Ohio. But honestly? If you only remember the memes or that one disastrous moment in the 2018 Finals, you're missing the entire point of why Cleveland Cavs JR Smith was the skeleton key that unlocked a championship.
People love to joke. They love the "Henny" jokes—even though he’s said he doesn't even like Hennessy—and they love to bring up the Game 1 blunder against the Warriors. It’s easy. It’s lazy.
The reality is that without Earl Joseph Smith III, there is no banner in the rafters at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Period. When David Griffin traded for him in early 2015, he was essentially a "throw-in" in the deal that brought Iman Shumpert from the Knicks. New York just wanted him gone. They thought he was a locker room headache. Instead, he became the emotional heartbeat of a team led by LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.
The Trade That Changed Everything
January 2015 felt desperate for Cleveland. LeBron had returned, but the team was hovering around .500. They needed spacing. They needed "gravity."
Enter the three-team trade involving the Knicks and the Thunder. Most analysts focused on Shumpert’s defense or the draft picks. J.R. was viewed as a high-risk gamble. But Cleveland offered him something he never really had in New York or Denver: a specific, narrow, and vital role. LeBron needed shooters who weren't afraid of the big lights. J.R. Smith? That man has never met a light he didn't think was for him.
He fit instantly. He wasn't asked to be the playmaker. He was asked to fly around screens, catch the ball, and let it go. His shooting mechanics are legendary among NBA trainers—a perfectly vertical leap, a high release, and a flick of the wrist that stayed consistent whether he was wide open or had three guys in his jersey.
In that 2014-15 stretch after the trade, the Cavs went on a tear. He gave them an edge. He gave them "the aura." When J.R. was hitting contested fadeaway threes, the energy in the building changed. It wasn't just about three points; it was about the demoralizing effect it had on the opponent. How do you guard a guy who makes shots that shouldn't even be taken?
The 2016 Finals: The Eight Points Nobody Talks About
We all know about "The Block." We all know about Kyrie’s shot over Steph Curry. But go back and watch the start of the third quarter in Game 7.
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The Cavs were down. The energy was teetering. The Golden State Warriors looked like they were about to pull away and finish the 73-win season with a ring. Then, J.R. Smith happened. He scored eight straight points for Cleveland out of the half. He hit two massive, gutsy threes that kept the Cavs within striking distance. If those shots don't go in, the lead swells to double digits, and the psychological weight of the Oracle Arena crowd probably crushes the comeback.
He finished that game with 12 points, but their impact was astronomical. Throughout that entire 2016 playoff run, he was the guy tasked with chasing Klay Thompson around. Think about that. The guy labeled as a "lazy" defender in New York spent the biggest series of his life locked in on one of the greatest shooters ever. He fought through screens. He stayed attached. He sacrificed his individual scoring stats to do the dirty work.
The Complexity of the 2018 Game 1 Blunder
We have to talk about it. We have to.
Game 1 of the 2018 Finals is arguably the most famous mistake in sports history. George Hill misses a free throw, J.R. grabs the rebound with the score tied, and instead of going up or passing out for a shot, he dribbles out the clock. LeBron’s reaction—the outstretched arms, the look of pure disbelief—became the most viral meme of the decade.
The aftermath was brutal. Social media tore him apart.
But here’s the nuanced take: Why was J.R. even in a position to get that rebound? He outworked Kevin Durant and Draymond Green for a loose ball in the highest-pressure moment imaginable. His instinct was elite; his situational awareness failed. Ty Lue later admitted there were multiple breakdowns in that moment, including players not calling a timeout.
The narrative that J.R. "cost LeBron a ring" that year is a stretch. The 2018 Warriors were a juggernaut with Kevin Durant. Even if the Cavs win Game 1, they were massive underdogs. But the mistake overshadowed the fact that J.R. was one of the few veterans left who LeBron actually trusted.
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Why J.R. Smith Was the "Ultimate Teammate"
If you talk to guys like Richard Jefferson or Channing Frye on their Road Trippin' podcast, they don't talk about J.R. the meme. They talk about Earl the teammate.
He was the guy who stayed late. He was the guy who kept the mood light during the grueling 82-game grind. In Cleveland, he found a family. The connection he had with the city was visceral because Clevelanders see themselves in J.R.—flawed, hard-working, misunderstood, and fiercely loyal.
His post-game press conference after winning the 2016 title is still one of the most emotional moments in NBA history. He sat there, crying, talking about his parents and how they stuck by him through all the "knucklehead" headlines. It humanized him. It showed that under the "Swish" persona was a guy who just wanted to make his dad proud.
The Statistical Impact by the Numbers
While stats don't tell the whole story, J.R.’s role as a high-volume floor spacer was statistically vital for the Cavs’ offensive rating.
- Three-Pointers: During his time with the Cavs, he was consistently near the top of the franchise list for made threes.
- Defensive Rating: In the 2016 playoffs, the Cavs' defensive efficiency was significantly better when J.R. was on the floor compared to when he sat.
- Durability: He was a horse. He played heavy minutes and rarely complained about the nagging injuries that come with chasing elite guards for 40 minutes a night.
He wasn't a superstar, but he was a "star in his role." That’s a distinction a lot of NBA players struggle with. J.R. embraced it. He went from being a guy who wanted 20 shots a game to a guy who was happy taking eight, as long as they were the right ones.
The Post-Cavs Legacy and Retirement
After the LeBron era ended in Cleveland, J.R.’s time there finished on a rocky note. The team was rebuilding, and a veteran like Smith didn't fit the timeline of a tanking squad. He eventually landed with the Lakers, reuniting with LeBron to grab another ring in the 2020 Bubble.
But his most impressive "second act" didn't happen on a court. It happened at North Carolina A&T.
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Seeing J.R. Smith go back to school, join the golf team, and maintain a 4.0 GPA was the perfect coda to his public narrative. It shattered the "dumb athlete" trope that people tried to pin on him after the 2018 Finals. He showed that growth isn't linear. You can be the guy who forgets the score in a playoff game and also be the guy who wins Academic Athlete of the Year at an HBCU.
What Fans Get Wrong About the "Cavs Version" of J.R.
Most people think he was just a "wild" shooter. Actually, his tenure in Cleveland was defined by discipline.
Under Tyronn Lue, J.R. became a defensive specialist. He was often assigned the opponent's best perimeter scorer. He used his size—6'6" with a long wingspan—to disrupt passing lanes and contest shots. He wasn't just standing in the corner waiting for LeBron to pass him the ball. He was sprinting, hedging, and communicating.
The "Pipe Layer" persona was for the fans. The "J.R. Smith" on the scouting report was a disciplined, high-IQ defender who understood rotation schemes better than almost anyone else on that roster besides LeBron.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans and Collectors
If you're looking back at this era of Cleveland basketball, there are a few ways to really appreciate what J.R. did without just looking at a box score.
- Watch the 2016 Game 7 Third Quarter: Specifically the first four minutes. Watch how he relocates. Watch his feet. It’s a masterclass in "spacing the floor."
- Appreciate the "Bad" Shots: J.R. specialized in what coaches call "grenade" possessions—when the shot clock is at 3 seconds and someone just has to chuck it. His ability to bail out an offense is a skill that analytics sometimes undervalues.
- Check the Memorabilia: Believe it or not, J.R. Smith Cavs jerseys are still huge sellers in the secondary market. If you're a collector, look for the "Swingman" 2016 Finals edition. They’re becoming harder to find because fans realized, perhaps too late, how much he meant to that core.
- Follow His Golf Journey: If you want to see the real "Earl," watch his interviews about his time at NC A&T. It provides a massive amount of context to his personality that you never saw during his playing days.
J.R. Smith wasn't perfect. He was a human being playing a game at the highest possible speed under the highest possible pressure. He made mistakes that lived in the headlines, but he made plays that lived in the rafters. Cleveland doesn't win without him. That’s not an opinion; it’s a fact. He was the perfect "wild card" for a team that needed exactly that to beat a "perfect" team like the Warriors.
If you ever see him in a golf shirt or at a game, don't ask him about the 2018 rebound. Ask him about the 2016 third quarter. That’s the version of Cleveland Cavs JR Smith that deserves to be remembered. He was a champion, a lockdown defender, and, for a few years, the soul of a city that desperately needed a win.