Cavs Respond to JR Smith's Comments About Not Being Invited Back Despite Winning 2016 NBA Title

Former Cleveland Cavaliers guard JR Smith turned heads when he said the team has not invited him back since he helped lead it to a championship in 2016.

However, the Cavaliers responded Wednesday with a video of fans and Donovan Mitchell cheering for him when he was recognized at a game and said, "Cleveland has always loved you, and you'll ALWAYS have a home here."

While Smith took issue with a lack of an official invite from the team, he is surely still a fan favorite among Cavaliers supporters.

After all, he was part of the 2015-16 team that stunned the basketball world by overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals against the mighty Golden State Warriors. It was Cleveland's first and only championship in franchise history, meaning the primary players on that squad will always have a special part in the team's story.

Smith poured in 20 points in Game 3 of that series and scored in double figures in each of the final five contests.

LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love were the primary playmakers, but Smith averaged 12.4 points per game while shooting 40 percent from deep that season. He was an ideal complement to that trio of stars because of his ability to hit from deep when defenders collapsed elsewhere.

He was also a part of the 2015, 2017 and 2018 Cavaliers teams that reached the NBA Finals.

Smith also played for the New Orleans Hornets, Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers in his career and was a secondary contributor for the Purple and Gold when they won the championship in 2002.

But the most notable stretch of his career was likely with the Cavaliers thanks to his role on those memorable teams, and Cleveland wanted to make it clear he is still a favorite in the city.