2016 NBA Champion JR Smith was fined $50,000 by the NBA when he used to play for the New York Knicks in 2014
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In the NBA, players try and do whatever they can to gain an edge on their opponents. They train like madmen, spending tons of hours in the gym. They employ strategies on the court to gain an edge on their opponents. And then comes my favorite part, playing mind games and doing silly little things to throw the opponents off.
When it comes to doing silly things on the court, JR Smith is no stranger to that. We all still remember him dribbling the clock out in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals.
As it turns out, he’s done silly thing on the court before this, back when he played for the New York Knicks. His silliness cost him $50,000 in a single sweep.
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JR Smith ignored the NBA once, costing him 50Gs in fine money
In 2014, the New York Knicks were facing the Dallas Mavericks. Dirk Nowitzki was on the free-throw line, and JR Smith was on the third paint spot, waiting for the rebounds. He seemed to bend to tie his shoe lace, when he reached over and untied Shawn Marion’s shoelace, hoping to get an advantage for the rebound. Sadly for JR, Dirk knocked down the FT.
Smith ended up receiving a notice from the NBA after the game about his action, and warning him against it. However, he decided to ignore it, and in the very next game, he did the same. His teammate, Amar’e Stoudemire, was on the free-throw line. JR bent down and untied Dwight Howard’s shoe lace. Dwight tried to return the favor, but was unable to do so.
As a result of the same, JR was slapped with a $50,000 fine by the NBA.
From a player’s safety perspective, the NBA was right in doing so. However, 50Gs for shoelaces? Ouch, that has got to hurt.
