J.r. Smith
Smith (born September 9, 1985, in Freehold, New Jersey), is an American professional basketball player currently with the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association.
High school
Before attending high school, Smith attended Millstone Middle School and graduated in 1999. Next he moved on to Steinert High School and McCorriston High School before transferring to Lakewood High School. He played high school basketball for the first time at Lakewood High School.
He would later transfer to Saint Benedict's Preparatory School and play basketball there as well. In the fall of 2003, Smith signed a letter of intent to play at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
NBA
In April 2004, Smith decided to forgo college and make himself eligible for the NBA Draft.
He was selected eighteenth overall in the first round of the 2004 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Hornets—one of nine players who were drafted that year straight out of high school. In his rookie season, he averaged 10.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
Smith participated in the Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk Competition in 2005, finishing behind Amare Stoudemire and the eventual winner, Josh Smith.
On July 12, 2006, the Hornets formally traded Smith and forward–center P.J.
Brown to the Chicago Bulls for center Tyson Chandler. On July 19, 2006, Smith was traded again, this time to the Denver Nuggets for guard Howard Eisley and two 2007 second-round draft picks.
On December 16, 2006, Smith was involved in the Knicks–Nuggets brawl. He was suspended for 10 games.
On February 20, 2007, Smith injured his left knee which required knee surgery.
He missed 3–4 weeks.
On October 13, 2007, Smith was involved in an incident at a Denver nightclub. The Nuggets suspended him for the first three regular season games of the NBA 2007-2008 season for his role in the incident.
On July 25, 2008, Smith was added to the Team USA Basketball select team to help the senior team prepare for the Olympics.
On February 10, 2009, Smith was chosen to replace the injured Rudy Gay in the 2009 Slam Dunk Contest.
On April 13, 2009, Smith scored a career-high 45 points on 13-of-22 shooting, as part of a 118-98 home win over the Sacramento Kings.
Smith, a 39% 3-point shooter during the regular season, failed to connect on any three-point shots in the first four games and also was criticized for poor decision-making by coach George Karl. After game four, Karl informed reporters of his plan to bench Smith for all of game 5.
Karl said, "He's done," and explained his frustrations over Smith's poor judgment to shoot a three late in the game, "I have no idea what planet that came from." Karl told the Associated Press that he had drawn up the play to give the ball to either Allen Iverson or Carmelo Anthony. Although the Nuggets were swept in the first round, Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant said in a postgame interview that, "J.
He was a lot to handle."
Career transactions
June 24, 2004: Drafted 18th overall by New Orleans Hornets in 2004 NBA Draft.
July 14, 2006: Traded by New Orleans along with P. Brown to the Chicago Bulls for Tyson Chandler.
July 20, 2006: Traded by Chicago to the Denver Nuggets for Howard Eisley and two future second-round draft picks.
Statistics
Regular season
Playoffs
Off the court
On February 2, 2007, Smith and teammate Carmelo Anthony were involved in a car accident.
The only detail released by the team was that the car J. was driving belonged to Anthony.
On June 9, 2007, Smith and two passengers were injured in a car accident on Stagecoach Road in Millstone Township, New Jersey, when the SUV he was driving collided with another car. Smith and a passenger, Andre Bell, were ejected from the vehicle at around 5:30 p.m.
However, Smith is due in court in early January to face summonses stemming from the crash.
Smith's driving record included five suspensions in eight months, but was "in good standing" at the time of the crash in New Jersey. Smith totaled 27 points against his record from April 2005 to January 2006, including eight violations on seven different days.
Five citations were for speeding. Since the accident, he has received two more speeding tickets and three license suspensions in New Jersey.
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