JR Smith opens up about infamous soup-throwing incident
Sep 4, 2021; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Former NBA player J.R. Smith looks on from the 3rd hole during the third round of the Tour Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports
JR Smith is speaking out about the time that he turned a savory meal into a high-velocity projectile.
The former NBA swingman Smith appeared this week on “The Old Man and the Three” podcast with JJ Redick. During the episode, Smith discussed the notorious incident from his Cleveland Cavaliers tenure when he threw a bowl of soup at Cavs assistant coach Damon Jones.
“Damon Jones is my guy,” said Smith, per Sports Illustrated. “I love D-Jones — But he has a knack for playing too much … And for me, if I’m telling you I’m not in the mood right now … I had some stuff going on at home. I wasn’t playing well. I’m like, ‘Not right now.’
“Sure enough I’m in the lunch room getting my soup and [Jones] comes in,” Smith added. “Mind you, the soup was hot. I’m like the first person in there. He’s like, trying to make me spill it. I’m not gonna lie, it took me a second because I actually thought about it. It wasn’t like a rageful throw. It was like, ‘O.K., you’re playing with me. I know you’re playing with me. I’m gonna show you.’ And I threw it on him. And he’s over there screaming because that s— is hot. I’m like, ‘See, you wanna stop playing now with me? You wanna stop playing?'”
Smith also revealed an extremely important detail — it was a bowl of chicken tortilla soup that he threw at Jones.
CONFIRMED: The soup JR Smith threw at Damon Jones in 2018 was chicken tortilla pic.twitter.com/pjEX5n1VHC
— Démar Grant (@DemarJGrant) April 13, 2023
As far as the throwable soup power rankings go, chicken tortilla has to be pretty high up on the list. It really keeps the heat with the melted cheese but also makes a big mess with all the toppings and yet still maintains maximum liquid chaos with the tomato base. If there was one type of soup to chuck to really get your message across, chicken tortilla would definitely be the one.
Smith was ultimately suspended by the Cavaliers over Soupgate (which occurred in the 2017-18 season). But the ex-Sixth Man of the Year bounced back from it to make two more Finals appearances in the NBA, including winning it all with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020. Since he last played, Smith has also been doing a lot of really cool things (that thankfully keep him far away from the kitchen).
