J.R. Smith Chops It Up On Brotherhood, The 2016 Finals, and Going Back To School | IMAN AMONGST MEN

Name: J.R. Smith Chops It Up On Brotherhood, The 2016 Finals, and Going Back To School | IMAN AMONGST MEN
Uploaded: 2025-11-14T09:57:50-08:00
Duration: 52 min 30 s
Channel: UNINTERRUPTED
Description: JR Smith reflects on his 16-year NBA career, emphasizing the critical importance of maintaining family and brotherhood ties amidst the transient nature…

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About this episode JR Smith reflects on his 16-year NBA career, emphasizing the critical importance of maintaining family and bro… AI summary

JR Smith reflects on his 16-year NBA career, emphasizing the critical importance of maintaining family and brotherhood ties amidst the transient nature of professional sports. He provides a detailed breakdown of the controversial 2018 Finals play, arguing it was a communication failure rather than a lack of awareness or substance use, while also discussing his post-retirement growth through education and his advocacy for Black athlete ownership in sports.

Key takeaways 6

Friendship Decay in Sports: JR Smith notes that friendships often fade not due to conflict, but because players get busy with money, kids, and different teams; he advises actively scheduling time together to maintain bonds.
The 2018 Finals Play Analysis: Smith clarifies that his hesitation was due to seeing Kevin Durant standing nearby and not knowing if timeouts remained, not because he was high or unaware. He believes a teammate should have called the timeout.
Cannabis vs. Alcohol: Smith argues that cannabis is less detrimental to performance than alcohol or cigarettes, noting that smoking before a game does not impair performance hours later, unlike being drunk.
Unrealized Economic Potential: Smith highlights that despite Black athletes dominating the NBA product, there is only one Black majority owner in major US sports (Michael Jordan), suggesting players should leverage their influence to gain ownership stakes.
Post-Retirement Education: Smith earned a 4.0 GPA in Liberal Studies with a Marketing minor, using his free time to learn outside-the-box thinking and African history, which he applies to his current business ventures.
Golf as a Business Model: Smith compares golf to professional sports, noting that golfers are independent contractors who must secure their own sponsorships, a mindset he is adopting after leaving the team structure of the NBA.

Notable quotes 5 AI-generated: wording and quote attribution may be wrong. Use the play link to verify.

“Y'all want to keep your friends, keep your family around, get money together. Cause the moment you forget to do that, It don't even be no hard feelings. Like where you been. Gettin money.”

▶ 1:22 JR Smith explaining why friendships among NBA players often drift apart due to life changes rather than animosity.
“I'm not about to just go right up on this mo, tall ass motherfucker. So I dribble it out.”

▶ 0:20 Smith describing his thought process during the controversial 2018 Finals play, citing Kevin Durant's presence as a deterrent to shooting.
“If cigarettes are okay, it's just like cigarettes can ruin your life for you. Yeah. That'll ruin your life forever.”

▶ 12:47 Smith comparing the stigma around cannabis use in sports to the accepted use of alcohol and tobacco by older generations.
“There's only one owner throughout all of them... why we should have at least five teams in the NBA. Six, seven teams.”

▶ 49:14 Smith arguing that Black athletes should demand ownership stakes in teams given their central role in generating revenue.
“You don't know everything. And for a lot of us, once we've done it, anything once, a lot of us think we're experts at it... when you dealing with kids, you have to be able to continuously learn and adapt.”

▶ 25:35 Smith discussing how fatherhood forced him to mature and stop assuming he had all the answers.