JR Smith Shrugs Off Mistake in 2018 NBA Finals Game 1: 'We've All Messed Up'
JR Smith has finally added his own caption to his meme-able moment from Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals.
"We've all messed up," Smith said while on Showtime's All The Smoke with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson (h/t CBS Sports' Sam Quinn).
To refresh your memory, this was Smith's infamous sequence that forced Game 1 between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors to go to overtime, where Golden State won 124-114:
Smith's full comments on All The Smoke were as follows:
"If it's my fault and you want to pin it on me, all right, cool. I hit [then-Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue] that night and I was like, 'Bro, I don't even know what to say.' He was like, 'Bro, what are you talking about? You made a basketball play and it didn't work out. It happens.'
"I laughed about that s--t that night. ... I'm not a person to hold onto s--t. I'm not going to hold onto no grudges. I'll never forget it, but players f--k up. It just so happened that mine was in the Finals. ... We've all messed up."
The Warriors capitalized on the mistake, going on to sweep the Cavs and win their second straight NBA title over Cleveland.
Smith's Cavaliers chapter officially ended when the team waived him in mid-July. Before that, the 34-year-old publicly requested a trade in Nov. 2018 and refused to accept a buyout.
Smith explained his rationale for the latter to The Athletic's Jason Lloyd:
"I don't want my legacy to remembered like that in Cleveland. I don't think that's fair to the people I see every single day walking around the arena. I don’t think that’s fair to the trainers or equipment guys. ... I just look at it differently than being traded. I don’t like the statement of getting bought out."
Smith hasn't played since Nov. 19, 2018.
Barnes and Jackson separately discussed Smith's NBA future earlier this week. Jackson said Smith is being "blackballed" from the league like Carmelo Anthony.
"It seems like they trying to do my boy JR Smith the same way. I hate to say that because he belongs in the league, too. JR got so much game left. To see him going through that just because he's not being who they want him to be. He's being himself. Yeah, we all make mistakes. ... But I love JR because he owns it."
If Smith never plays in the NBA again, he will at least go out a champion. He helped the Cavaliers win their first title in franchise history, beating the Warriors in seven games during the 2016 NBA Finals.
