JR Smith has made an honest admission about suiting up alongside Los Angeles Lakers' star LeBron James, calling it both “a gift and a curse.”
The comments came on HBO’s ‘Game Theory with Bomani Jones’ during an extended discussion about playing with the man many believe to be the greatest player of all time. Smith went on to say, “I love Bron to death and I love playing on his team because for me, I feel like I thrive more under the pressure. But a lot of guys don’t like it because it can go one of two ways.”
Of course, playing with LeBron James proved to be a relatively fruitful exercise for JR Smith, who won both of his NBA Championships alongside him – the first for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the second for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.
Despite those victories, however, in the eyes of many the most memorable moment the two shared on the court was not a positive one. JR Smith’s infamous brain-fade at the conclusion of the 2018 NBA Finals between the Cavs and the Golden State Warriors is etched into the annals of basketball history, with Smith seemingly forgetting the scores and failing to attempt to score in the final seconds of a tied game which LeBron ended with 51-8-8. The Warriors went on to win 124-114.
If anything, that such a moment is so widely remembered is testament to Smith’s comments. He may have proven a valuable team member to LeBron for many years and won two championships alongside him, but mention their playing relationship to any NBA fan and you’ll most likely hear about the aforementioned incident.
It’s hard to imagine too many NBA players not wanting to play alongside one of the greatest to ever play the game. Invariably, however, doing so comes with plenty of pressure, and as JR alluded to, how that pressure is handled varies from player to player.
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