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JR Smith is remorseful about how he spent his $90 million NBA fortune
It’s uncommon to find an NBA player that has no regrets regarding their spending habits during their career.
They make so much money so quickly that they often don’t know how to spend it wisely.
JR Smith, a two-time NBA champion who earned $90 million in his career, regrets spending so much of that money on materialistic pursuits and wishes he had given back more to those less fortunate.
In the NBA, JR Smith earned $90 million
Smith was never a superstar in the NBA, but he made a good living throughout his 15 years in the league.
Smith earned more than $90 million in pay alone during his career with five different organizations.
The majority of that came from his five seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he earned more than $57 million.
He won a championship with the Cavs in 2016 thanks to his connection with LeBron James, and he followed The King to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he won another title in 2020.
But despite his tremendous career earnings and the two championship rings on his fingers, Smith still retains a regret from his extended career.
Smith wishes he had used more of his NBA earnings to help others
Smith, like many NBA players, spent the majority of his career earnings on himself.
Trips to the club, extravagant purchases, and heavy fines accounted for the majority of his expenditures during his tenure in the league, but he wishes he had given back more.
“With the money I was only [paying in fines for being] late on the bus, I could have fed my entire village ten times over,” Smith stated in a recent edition of the I Am Athlete podcast (h/t CNBC).
We’d rather spend $60,000 on a strip club than feed 2,500 people in the neighborhood.”
Smith didn’t recognize his excessive spending was a problem until after he left the NBA.
“I felt like I had everything, but I wasn’t whole with myself because I knew there was something lacking,” he explained.
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Smith’s words of wisdom for other NBA players
Smith wishes he had known what he knows now when he initially entered the NBA in 2004.
He can’t change how he wasted his riches, but he wants to warn current players not to make the same mistakes he did.
“[Athletes build] their schools… millions upon millions of times… “And the $50,000 [they donate back] makes no difference,” he says.
“However, the $50,000 to $100,000 you give to HBCUs affects people’s lives.”
“We’re so taught, so ingrained in that Eurocentric mindset of worrying about me, worrying about me, worrying about mine.
Smith still has a net worth of $35 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, so he can give back in ways he didn’t throughout his heyday.
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