J.R. Smith is back in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers, and it sounds like he had a very rough time being away from the sport.
Smith was waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers last July, and couldn’t find a new team ahead of the 2019-20 season. The swingman sat out nearly all of the regular season before the Lakers finally signed him at the start of the month. Add in the fact that Smith hasn’t played in an NBA game since November of 2018, and it marks over a year and a half away from the game for a guy who was a regular starter as recently as 2018.
That year away apparently took its toll on Smith. On Monday, he told the media that he had been so depressed being out of the league, he couldn’t even play the popular NBA 2K video game anymore, as it reminded him of his predicament.
JR Smith on being out of the league: "I went through a very depressed state for a long time.” Said he stopped playing 2K because it reminded him of not being in the NBA.
— Paolo Uggetti (@PaoloUggetti) July 6, 2020
It may seem funny at first glance, but Smith has been an NBA regular since he was 19. That’s the last 15 years of his life. To have that routine disappear so abruptly — and not by choice — can’t be easy.
That said, Smith seems to suggest that he’s grown a bit during his time away from the game. Maybe that will benefit the Lakers as they aim for a championship.
