Ever since he first entered the NBA out of high school in the 2004 NBA Draft, J.R. Smith has never been what you would call a "coach's player." Mercurial, polarizing, and hyper-talented, Smith is just as explosive off-the-court as he is on it, often giving head coaches and league officials headaches for all sorts of reasons. Most recently, Smith has found himself in the news for all the wrong reasons once again. The 2013 Sixth Man of the Year will start the 2014 home. He was suspended five games for violating the NBA's substance abuse policy—weed to be exact. But for as much as these guys might dislike him, fans across the NBA can't get enough of the one they call Swoosh.
Known for his high-flying, and high-scoring abilities, Smith's rim-rocking dunks, clutch baskets, and unpredictable personality make him one of the most appealing players in the L. This guy isn't afraid to make a statement, and it's more than likely that he'll be able to back it up. To show you what we mean, we put together A History of J.R. Smith's Most Badass Moments. Whether he's driving a tank around Manhattan or calling out Kobe Bryant on Twitter, we've just got two words for Mr. Earl Joseph Smith: never change.
RELATED: The J.R. Smith Ratchet Meter: He's Back to His Partying Ways, Now With Iman Shumpert and Rihanna
RELATED: J.R. Smith's Craziest Twitter Moments
RELATED: Gallery: The Craziest Drunk NBA Player Photos
Ever since he first entered the NBA out of high school in the 2004 NBA Draft, J.R. Smith has never been what you would call a "coach's player." Mercurial, polarizing, and hyper-talented, Smith is just as explosive off-the-court as he is on it, often giving head coaches and league officials headaches for all sorts of reasons. Most recently, Smith has found himself in the news for all the wrong reasons once again. The 2013 Sixth Man of the Year will start the 2014 home. He was suspended five games for violating the NBA's substance abuse policy—weed to be exact. But for as much as these guys might dislike him, fans across the NBA can't get enough of the one they call Swoosh.
Known for his high-flying, and high-scoring abilities, Smith's rim-rocking dunks, clutch baskets, and unpredictable personality make him one of the most appealing players in the L. This guy isn't afraid to make a statement, and it's more than likely that he'll be able to back it up. To show you what we mean, we put together A History of J.R. Smith's Most Badass Moments. Whether he's driving a tank around Manhattan or calling out Kobe Bryant on Twitter, we've just got two words for Mr. Earl Joseph Smith: never change.
RELATED: The J.R. Smith Ratchet Meter: He's Back to His Partying Ways, Now With Iman Shumpert and Rihanna
RELATED: J.R. Smith's Craziest Twitter Moments
RELATED: Gallery: The Craziest Drunk NBA Player Photos
The Double Alley-Oop
Date: 3/24/2012
Everyone loves a good alley-oop, but you know what's better than just one of those? A double alley-oop. When the Knicks took on the Detroit Pistons toward the end of the 2012 season, then-rookie Iman Shumpert and Smith decided to add some flavor to an otherwise boring, blowout match-up by serving up this Globetrotters-esque, double-assist dunk. The Smith-to-Shumpert-to-Smith combo is not only very rare, but also very badass.
Plays in China, Never Shows Up for Practice, Scores 60 Points Off the Bench
Date: 2/1/2012
When the NBA was locked out for the beginning of the 2012 season, J.R. Smith decided that he had better things to do than sit around in his crib all day and let his game go stale. So, he took off for China and signed to play with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls in the Chinese Basketball Association. Like most every NBA player that takes his game over to the Far East, Smith was able to absolutely dominate at this level of competition.
Coming off of the bench, Smith could score nearly at will, including one contest when he put up 60 points. And this success came despite the fact that he missed nearly every single practice during his time with the club. So, basically, instead of sitting around at his house in the U.S. all day, J.R. decided that he'd rather sit around at his place in China, and get paid for it. Very savvy, Swoosh.
Showing Off His Clutch Gene Against the Phoenix Suns
Date: 12/26/2012
In order to be a badass in the NBA, you need to prove to the fans that, when the game is on the line, you can be the go-to guy for the team. We have to see that you've got a little bit of that Jordan gene in you; the trait that makes you completely unafraid to step-up and take the final shot.
Lucky for the Knicks faithful, J.R. has never been one to be lacking in confidence, and he was able to back up that swagger with this absolutely ridiculous, off-balance buzzer-beater he netted against the Phoenix Suns this past December. Makes sense that it happened in the winter; the man's got ice in his veins.
Reportedly Hooking Up With Rihanna
Date: 5/14/2012
Rihanna may have been less than complimentary toward J.R. during the playoffs this year, but in May of 2012, things were reportedly a bit different. Hooking up with a girl as selective as Rihanna is definitely the mark of a true badass, and from what was reported, it sounds like Smith may have actually been able to pull it off. Gossip magazine In Touchwrote last year that the two were seen being "very flirty in the club all night and holding hands. She was sitting on his lap and was really into him."
Neither of the two have ever been one to shy away from controversial behavior, so the pairing makes sense. Did Swoosh actually get it with RiRi? We certainly can't confirm it but, hey, we'd never be stupid enough to bet against a man like him.
Buys His Own $450,000 Tank
Date: 8/18/2013
When someone is looking for a vehicle that has an extra kick to it, the common choice is to go with an SUV, or even a Hummer. Certain people just want to make a big, bold statement with their car, and usually one of those options is enough to do that. For an individual as wild as J.R. Smith, though, you know that the guy was going to need something a little bit different. Something that would stand out in traffic like he stands out in a crowd. So, of course, J.R. decided to go with the Gurkha F5, an armored vehicle used primarily by military and the police. Oh, and also The Rock in Fast Five. Need we say more?
Getting His Very Own Fan-Made Tribute Song and Music Video, "So Right"
Date: 3/14/2013
If your fans are so dedicated to you that they're making entire songs in your honor, then you're obviously doing something good. Yes, the actual quality of this J.R. Smith tribute song is less than impressive, but that's not the point. What matters here is that someone was actually so inspired by J.R.'s badass accomplishments that they felt the need to literally sing his praises.
Milford Jerome may not have the nicest pipes in the world, and his lyrics are clunky as hell, but there's no denying that, despite all these faults, there's still something so right, so right, so riiiiiight about the fact that Swoosh is getting songs made about him.
Clowning Kris Humphries on Twitter
Date: 1/21/2013
At this point, is there anyone who hasn't made Kris Humphries look like a fool about the whole Kim Kardashian thing? Not that he doesn't 100 percent deserve it, but, man, the guy has had it rough for the past couple years. J.R. Smith decided to rub a little bit of extra dirt on Kris' wounds when Humphries—feeling confident after the Nets had taken down the Knicks in Madison Square Garden this year—felt like talking some trash to Brooklyn's cross-town rivals. Sorry, dude, but Swoosh just isn't letting that happen, and he isn't afraid to pull out the Kanye card on you. This one stung a little bit, didn't it?
Dishing Out the Kobe Beef
Date: 12/12/2012
Kobe Bryant is the last person that most players in the league want to cross, because they know that if they anger the Black Mamba, then he'll have no trouble biting them back and ripping the heart out of their team's chest by dropping buckets upon buckets against them. This past season, though, with the Lakers playing as poorly as they did, J.R. Smith wasn't about to be intimidated by Kobe or his Los Angeles teammates.
Smith made this known on his Twitter feed in December, when he refused to back down from talking shit about Kobe. If stepping up to one of the biggest badasses in the league doesn't make you a badass in your own right, then nothing does.
Inviting His Fans to Come Take a Late Night Bike Ride With Him in NYC
Date: 5/31/2012
How often is it that you ever actually get to hang out with one of your favorite athletes in a casual, real-life setting? Unless you happen to win some crazy contest, or donate a bunch of money to their charity, then it's usually never. That is, unless your celebrity of choice is J.R. Smith. One random night in May of last year, Smith decided to break up the monotony of fan-player relationships by asking his followers on Twitter if anyone wanted to go on a bike ride with him. Yes, a bike ride. Yes, in the heart of New York City.
How pumped do you think his fans were when they saw this opportunity staring at them on their Twitter feeds? Smith made good on his offer too, putting up pics of the moment on his Instagram account as proof.
The Posterization of Gary Neal
Date: 12/16/2010
Look out below! Going coast-to-coast during his days with the Denver Nuggets, J.R. Smith takes off from the back-half of the paint to completely explode on former Spurs combo guard Gary Neal. A former Slam Dunk contest competitor, Swoosh has never been shy when it comes to flashing his ungodly ability to take it to the rack. We hate to say it, Gary, but this one looks like it was pretty painful. You probably still have nightmares about this one, don't you?
Tweets Tahiry's Bubble, Receives $25,000 Fine
Date: 3/8/2012
Some people don't like to kiss and tell, while others love to brag and let you know all about their past hookups. But then there's ery special type of people, such as J.R. Smith, who like to not only kiss and tell, but to also take a picture of their woman's ass and put it up on Twitter. Oh, and then they'll also take shots at the woman's ex, and after that they'll get fined $25,000 by the NBA.
Did J.R. express some regret about the situation after it occurred? Sure. The man isn't too proud to apologize. But while the picture may have lost him his girl, we're sure that he's got no problem with trading that for the glory he earned instead.
Delivering a Double-Clutch Reverse Slam Versus Miami in the Playoffs
Date: 5/3/2012
The Heat don't often give their opponents a chance to make any sort highlight-worthy material, so if you're faced up against Miami, you just have to make your own opportunities. On this double-clutch reverse dunk, J.R. does exactly that. It looks like he's going to just get a lay-up out of this one, but Smith ends up reaching for that extra gear, elevating, and unloading on the basket with emphasis. It's never difficult to make Mario Chalmers look bad, but J.R. might've done him the worst out of anyone on this play.
Hitting a Buzzer-Beater and Celebrating with the Air Guitar
Date: 4/23/2013
When you've got Knicks versus Celtics in Madison Square Garden during the playoffs, then you know it's always going to be a classic battle between these two long-time rivals. Spike will be clapping, the players will be jawing at one another and, by the end of the game, a hero will inevitably be born. Basically, this is the exact type of situation that a player like J.R. Smith lives for, and in this sequence, he shows just how ably he's able to perform in the spotlight, scoring 5 clutch points at the end of the first quarter, and topping it off with one the strangest/most incredible celebrations we've ever seen. It looks like your basic air guitar move, but Smith adds something different to it with what looks to be one of the trillest prayers ever sent out.
"You Trying to Get The Pipe?"
Date: 1/26/2013
When it's all said and done, few moments in the history of Twitter should go down as more legendary than J.R. Smith's classic, "You trying to get the pipe" line. We see or hear of instances of NBA players getting DM'ed like this all the time, but it isn't often that we get to see them handle it with so much honesty. Yes, J.R., this girl is most definitely trying to get the pipe. We applaud you for just coming out and saying it. No sense in beating around the bush with this one, right?
Using "Get Chicks or Die Trying" as His High School Yearbook Quote
Date: Spring 2004
There's really not much more we can add to this; a quote like "Get chicks or die trying" basically just speaks for itself, doesn't it? What did you use for your high school yearbook quote? One of those same cheesy, cliche lines that everyone else puts down? Or maybe you tried to be the funny guy by using a Richard Pryor or Chris Rock joke instead? Yeah, real original, dude. Whatever the case, there's absolutely no way that you were able to top J.R.'s pick, and it's pretty awesome to see that Swoosh was probably just as crazy in high school as he is today. The dude was just a born badass.