01x01 - Mulligan

[bunniefuu]

[man] Rolling?
All right, here we go.

Camera speed.

And speed...
J.R. hero interview.

- Take one.
- [clapboard snaps]

I need to wear a shirt for this?

I'm good, right?

[Watkins]
When God was coming up

with the idea of basketball
and the positions

and decided
one of the positions was

a scoring
or a sh**ting guard...

[camera snaps]

...the people he made
in that moment were

Ray Allen and J.R. Smith.

[music]

J.R. was, like, the definition
of outside of the box.

Tattoos...

he could sh**t threes...

[commentator]
Ten three-pointers!

That's a Knicks record.

...crazy dunks...

you wanna hit
buzzer beaters...

- [buzzer]
- Oh, he did it!

[Shumpert] You know that
technically that's a bad shot,

but if J.R. shoots it,

it's just J.R. sh**ting.

[commentator]
Oh! He puts it in!

J.R. Smith at the buzzer!

If I'm asked to describe
his persona as a player,

bucket-getter.

Unafraid.

[commentator]
J.R. Smith!

We just saw a man fly!

That's just such
a great metaphor for life.

The next shot is going in.

[reporter]
J.R. Smith will likely

get suspended,
it could be anywhere

- two to five...
- It's unprofessional.

I think it cost him the game.

He's on the back nine
in his career.

You know, obviously
you don't really

understand what you've lost
until it's gone.

[reporter]
He's going back to school.

He's enrolling
at North Carolina A&T

to pursue a liberal arts degree

and hoping
to play on the golf team.

He's petitioning
the NCAA to allow him

to play golf.

[voice] A five-handicap
isn't good enough

for collegiate competition.

In basketball, I'm a daredevil.
I can sh**t any shot.

I can make any shot.
I know that in my head.

In golf, I don't know that.

The only reason
why I know that

in basketball is because

I put the time into it.

I haven't done that with golf.

But it's coming.

[theme music]

[theme music ends]

[Smith] For a long time,
my purpose was basketball.

I made that my purpose.

I know who I am.
I know who I've been.

It wasn't, again,
till the last couple years

where I really took ownership
of who I wanted to be

and who I cared to be,
opposed to just...

settling
for being a person

that has no substance.

[echoing shouts]

Typically, you wouldn't see
people in my shoes

going back to school, but...

I have so much to learn.

Academically.
Mentally.

And socially,
so many other areas.

- Hey.
- Hey.

- Hey... got to.
- How've you been?

What's goody, my boy?

- What's goody, my boy?
- Look at that ball.

- We need to get that ball up.
- What's up, bro?

- You know it.
- How're you? Swish.

This my girl Shar.

What's good? What's good?
How y'all doing?

To just make me more
well-rounded as a person.

- What year are you in?
- Senior.

Senior, oh, dope,
what you studying?

- Business management.
- Oh, word.

Yep, my cousin's
a big fan of yours.

- Oh, appreciate it.
- Yo, N.

- What's good, son?
- You on campus?

Yeah, I'm out here, bruh.
I was just talking to N.

- That's funny, yeah...
- Yeah, that's my...

that's my big cousin.

Appreciate ya, man,
take it easy.

What up? What up?

[student] And I looked
at his Instagram,

and I seen he was
getting ready for school.

I was like, oh, wow.

It's still low-key crazy, like,

he's an actual,
like, freshman student.

Now he is, man, cool.

[Smith]
I had it up in my mind

that I wanted
to attend an HBCU.

I wanted to show
young minorities

what it means
to go to school.

And... how important it is
to get your education.

HBCU stands
for "historically Black

colleges and universities."

These institutions have been
around since 1837.

They were founded
in the Antebellum era,

which means prior
to the Civil w*r.

Well, back in the day,
we weren't allowed to go

to predominantly
white institutions, PWI's.

And so, to prevent us
from entering those schools,

they created the HBCU.

[Favors]
Educating African-Americans,

it was a revolutionary concept.

It's about advancing
this country to a more just,

democratic society,
and this is

what HBCU's have been
since their founding.

They still serve that purpose,
even to this very day.

[Murphy]
An HBCU is all about

the culture of the campus.

History of the campus.

It's primarily
for African-American students,

but we are very diverse,

and we pride ourselves in that.

[Smith] I chose A&T
because it had a great

liberal studies program,

and for me,
for some reason,

like, I feel
like it's on my path

to go to North Carolina.

And I was like,
you know what? I'm going.

[student] You coming back
to the Knicks, bro?

- Huh?
- [laughter]

I came from New York...
all the way out here.

Oh, word?
Y'all from the city?

Come back to the Knicks.

Come to the Bulls, man,
that's my team.

The Bulls your team? Okay.

[Smith] I miss being
a basketball player.

I miss the grind of it, um...

I miss the camaraderie
of the team

and miss the gym.

[distant cheerleaders cheering]

[applause]

You know, everybody thinks
their kid is gonna be great,

but you kind of know
when your kid really has it.

[Earl Smith Jr.] I said
everything gotta be a swish.

I said, if the ball hit the rim,
and it go in, it don't count.

- [camera snaps]
- [Smith] When I was, like,

eight or nine,
I was probably sh**ting

a thousand a day, easy.

As he kept playing the sports,

he got better
and better and better, so.

[Smith] Like, in my head,
I was M.J., Reggie,

Larry, Isaiah, Magic,
like, all of 'em.

[Scott Van Pelt]
J.R. was just one of those guys.

You knew who he was,
before anyone knew who he was.

Does that make sense?
He was just always

on the radar,
that this was a guy

that had a chance.

[applause]

[Smith] I always
wanted to go to North Carolina.

M.J. was a Carolina guy,
so that was my guy growing up.

And I wanted to follow
in his footsteps,

go to UNC and be a Tar Heel.

For one minute,
it was like, all right, cool,

going to Carolina,
one more visit,

I'm meeting the players,
I'm talking to 'em

left and right, coming in.

Then, over the course
of three games in the summer...

JR Smith regarded by the scouts here

as the premiere sh**ter.

I'm playing with dudes
who are number one pick,

number two pick,
top five pick,

a lottery pick,

and I'm getting MVPs,
all this sh*t.

You know,
I was just like,

if they going, I can go.

And then sure enough,
at the McDonald's Game,

it was like...

all the agents was
calling my dad.

It was like, "Hey, man,

"he's gonna be
the first round pick.

He gonna be this,
he gonna be that."

And... I was like, what?

They told me, I said,
"Oh, yeah, it's over."

[commentator]
Uh-oh, J.R. Smith.

Another 360.

Coach Hurley said,
"You know, he never really

loved school, so if he can
make the leap, he should do it."

We never really thought that
it was gonna happen that fast.

[host] With the 18th pick

in the 2004 NBA Draft,

the New Orleans Hornets select

J.R. Smith from
St. Benedict's Prep.

[Smith]
It was nuts, man.

That first 24 hours,
it was just like,

damn...
I'm really a pro.

[commentator]
That was so crooked and nasty.

[Smith] Pre-season,
I was averaging

17, 18 points a game.

I'm doing something
that, sh*t, I'm about to be...

I'm on... I'm on
the "Next Kobe" list, like,

you know what I'm saying?

It didn't work out like that.

Pre-season isn't regular season
and the post season.

My... rookie year,

I didn't play
the first 30 games.

You don't have
the slightest idea

how to be a professional.
How could you?

How could you know?
You're a child.

Not him,
but you're 18 years old.

You're not even a grown-a*s man.

I know you're 18,

but, with this money,

you are a 35-year-old man
on paper, buddy.

Don't make a mistake.

I mean, there's a reason
why the side of the road is

littered with so many names

that we thought
were gonna be guys.

Bower's got... he doesn't like
playing young guys.

And it didn't make sense
to me because, like,

why would you draft me?
And that kind of built up

a lot of resentment
because I was just like,

man, I should've went to school.

That was the biggest regret
of my life at the time.

But I've learned that

talent will always
rise to the top.

[commentators]
Oh! I told you he'd get it!

I told you he'd get it.

[commentator]
Iverson... J.R.!

[commentator] J.R. Smith is
coming to the scores table,

ready to make
his Knicks debut.

[announcer]
...J.R. Smith!

[music]

[announcer]
Welcome to MSG!

That's three and the net.

[Smith]
Going to the Knicks,

I was able to really learn
to play as the star.

[commentator]
...third time in his career,

he's at double figures
in threes.

Hyper-athletic.

Can really sh**t the ball

from all three levels
of the basketball court.

And easily
the best out there

that's ever played
that position.

[commentator]
For an electrifying finish!

J.R.'s the guy that
most coaches used to point at

and be like, "This is
an example of what not to do."

[commentator]
And J.R. Smith throws it down!

If you're gonna do that,
you'd better be J.R. Smith.

Like, that's
what your coach would say.

- [buzzer]
- [commentator] Oh, he did it!

J.R. Smith wins it
at the buzzer!

Unbelievable!

And then I won Sixth Man.

Has to be
some sort of humanity

that was always
accessible in him.

Know your role,
be a star in your role.

That takes a humility
that not everybody has, right?

When you're supposed
to be a guy,

and then you wanna
become the sixth guy, okay,

well, that's my role,
I'll be a star in that role.

[Carter] You can see
his progression from then

to when he won
his championship

and really became
a professional.

I think,
in the 2016 NBA Finals,

it was in seven, point game,
I said, "Oh, sh*t."

When the Warriors were trying
to really put their foot

on the floor of the Cavs
in the third quarter.

[commentator] That's good!
J.R. Smith! Back-to-back threes!

And J.R., being who he is,

kind of saved that game
for the Cavs, honestly.

[commentator]
It's over!

Cleveland is a city
of champions once again!

[Smith] It's everything
I dream it would be and...

more, I mean, spending it
with my family and my friends.

With y'all, it's...
the best feeling in the world,

with these guys,
who I go into battle with

every single day,
blood, sweat, and tears.

I appreciate
every last one of y'all.

I love y'all,
from the bottom of my heart,

I promise,
and this is for us.

[Barack Obama]
I wanna give a special thanks

to J.R. Smith's shirt
for showing up.

I wasn't sure if it was gonna
make an appearance today.

[cheering]

[commentator] Plenty of time,
with 4.7 remaining.

Hill misses,
rebound goes to the Cavs!

J.R. Smith brings it back out!

Throw it to Hill!
Hill's shot blocked!

And we'll go to overtime.

You get the feeling
J.R. Smith thought

they had the lead,
he didn't know the score.

I think J.R... exactly.

That's a bad mistake
by J.R. Smith.

[Michelle Beadle] Who wants
to take that one first?

- I do, I do.
- Okay.

Chauncey wants
to take this one first.

There ain't
no giggles with what

J.R. Smith done.

It's... unprofessional.

Was he on the Henny?

Was he... was it
a lifestyle decision?

- That was the best Tweet ever.
- Was he not concentrating?

Was he not thinking?

One, they always need
a scapegoat, period.

J.R. had a moment of,
like, I got this,

but low-key the ball's
supposed to be in Bron's hands.

[Shumpert] I always felt like,
bro, this the first time

he actually thought, like,
usually y'all on him

because he caught that ball,
turned around,

and shot that sh*t.

[Smith]
I'm a target.

I'm consistently a target.

Whether it be...

because of what I look like,

Because of who I am.

Because of how much I have.

How much people
think I have.

What I'm wearing.

Who I'm associated with.

It's the game.

It's... It's just bad,

it's a f*cked-up game, man.

[reporter] Most people
around the country was

talking about how the game ended
and went into overtime;

what did you do yesterday?

Uh, I watched golf
all day yesterday.

Watched the Memorial.

I think the way
J.R. Smith's been...

portrayed / consumed

over a very long career,

much like him,
has evolved.

There've been moments
just like there've been moments

for him
he'd probably like over.

[commentator]
Look at J.R. Smith.

J.R. Smith was
kind of a knucklehead

- in the NBA at times.
- ...attacked the rim.

The man threw soup
at another man.

[Skip Bayless] When his team
often needs him the most,

they can trust him the least.

You got J.R. play basketball.

After J.R. play basketball,
he's like, yeah,

I don't have
to talk to y'all,

and when you do that
a lot of times,

the narrative can get
creative, you know,

people sit at home,
they ain't got nothing to do

but twirl their thumbs,
I could make a lot

of different versions
of what you did with your day.

I've seen this high look,
I'm not saying he was on weed...

- Oh, no.
- But I've heard stories

that he smokes a lot of weed.

[Shumpert] I don't think
I was as close with anybody

as I was with J.R.

Originally,
J.R. came to New York

and couldn't drive;
for a while,

I just drove J.R. around
when he wanted to be driven.

It was, like,
part of my rookie duty,

and I didn't see
what everybody's, like,

you got the media
painting him like

his whole day,
he's chasing around girls,

and he's, like,
getting in bar fights.

If you hang out with J.R.
and you gotta drive him around,

we gotta go pick up Demi.
[laughing]

We gotta go take her shopping.

He gonna buy her a toy car
that she can't drive yet.

But J.R. had to start off
the day playing golf.

That's what people don't know.
He need his golf.

Or you... can't mess up
his golf time.

I see the reasons
he's good at basketball.

I see the reason
his daughter

sprints into his arms
when he comes home.

I watch people try and,
like, give me something

about J.R. to...
and I was just like,

"Dawg, this dude has
been awesome to me."

[Ida] Personally,
it bothers me.

It bothers me,
the fact that he can,

no matter what he does,
how good he does it,

they always find something
negative to talk about him.

'Cause it hurts, you know,
that's your kid.

[Shumpert] Bro,
he gotta grow up on TV.

You're asking a kid...
give a kid millions of dollars

and be like, "All right, go,
and we're gonna tape you.

"And if you mess up, ooh,
we're gonna ridicule you.

Ooh... we're gonna talk
about you so bad."

[laughing]

[Stephen A. Smith]
I actually happen to like

J.R. Smith a lot.

And by the way, J.R. Smith is

actually a very,
very nice guy.

That's what I want people
to see in him.

J.R. is very kind-hearted,

will give you
the shirt off his back.

But just...

don't talk bad about my kid.

- [laughing]
- Do not.

And I think, when a team
comes to a veteran guy

and says, "We're not gonna
play you, even if you give us

- the better chance to win."
- Right.

That guy deserves to be
out of there.

With a J.R. Smith,
who has not...

by my calculations,
he has not played

an NBA game for 619 days.

Like, I never wanted
to be famous.

Like, I played basketball
'cause I love it.

I never asked for the fame.

I never asked
for millions of dollars.

I never cared about that.
I loved the game,

and I wanted to be
in the NBA because

it was... where the best players
in the world played.

That was
the most competitive...

that was the highest place
in the world to me to get to,

and I've done that,
so when people talk about,

"Oh, you can't shut up,"
or "You can't play the game,"

'cause, or "You could've made
so much more money,"

and "you" quote-unquote
"wasted your time,"

I hear people saying that,

and to me, it's like,
if you really think about it,

for you...

you missed the whole purpose

of your purpose.

My purpose
at one point in my life

was to play in the NBA
for 16 years.

That was my purpose,
and I achieved that purpose,

I did that sh*t
to the best of my ability.

And when people discredit
that sh*t...

your passion, your goals...

and everything
you work for...

not for nobody else
but for yourself...

I didn't do that for my mom,
I didn't do that for my dad,

I didn't do that for nobody else
because that was my space.

And I'd give it up again
just because I could do it

just the way I did it.

I ain't nobody's yes man.

I'm not gonna say
what I don't mean

just 'cause you want me to...

I'm not gonna do that.

That's not who I am.

And I know, for me,
if you can take that from me,

and I still stand strong, and...

keep doing
what I need to do,

'cause I know
it's a bigger purpose to...

to motivate the youth.

That's a sacrifice
I can live with.

J.R. had another
good couple years in him.

- Oh, yeah.
- To be in the NBA.

[Earl] Even now, he could go
out there and smoke 'em.

Every team in the NBA,
look at their bench.

How many guys on that bench

is better than J.R.
right now?

I'm gonna say none.

[Smith] Technically,
I still didn't retire yet.

I didn't put my paperwork in.

I'm still a free agent.

I know I can still
go out there and hoop

and play
with the best of 'em.

All I need is a week
to get in shape.

Give me five days
on the treadmill,

and I'll be there.
I'll be there day six,

kicking somebody's a*s.

But, at the end of the day,

I can't sit here

and wait for somebody
who don't want me.

You know what I'm saying,
like, it's... life goes on.

[soft music]

So, Ray Allen does
an invitational every year,

and the first year I went,

I kept seeing him,
in between rounds,

go to his computer and...

zoom and type,

and I'm like, oh,
what the f*ck is Ray doin'?

Like that, bro,
you, like, you got a job?

He was like,
"Nah, I'm in school."

I said, bro, you're in school?

And he was like, "Yeah,"
he gave me the rundown.

He was beginning his masters.

He was talking about
challenging myself

outside of sports.

Taking myself more serious
being a person

who wants
to continuously get better

not just athletically,
but using my brain as well

and continuously to grow
as a human being.

He kind of brainwashed me,
I'm not gonna lie,

'cause I've been talking
like this ever since I...

ever since I've been
kicking it with him.

As I told him,
I was like, "You have me

"in a positive mindset,

elevational mindset
consistently."

You know, idle minds is
the devil's playground.

And... that's where
a lot of my troubles came from,

'cause I was bored.

That's...

an evolved perspective

of... of an older man,
not a... now, not a boy,

not a young man,
but a grown man,

a parent who knew...
who recognizes,

"I wasn't the best version
of myself at all times.

But I'm trying to be."

[Smith] So, I met with
this woman named Hannah,

With the NBPA.

She asked me,
"Okay, well, what kind of,

"well, what school,
do you have a school in mind

you wanna go to?"
Whatever.

I said, nah,
I just want it to be an HBCU.

I was surprised because
he never really loved school.

[Smith]
I don't really have, like,

a lot of great memories
from school 'cause, like,

I used to get
picked on a lot.

- [camera snap]
- So, for me,

it was kind of...
tormenting in a way.

- [camera snap]
- It was always

three Black kids
in my class.

We were always alienated
from everybody else.

We were never invited
to the party situations

- or whatever.
- [camera snap]

[Ida] People say
J.R.'s from the hood.

J.R. doesn't... he probably
can't even spell "hood."

Because J.R. has grown up here
in Millstone all his life.

Just so happened
all three of us were, uh,

special ed,
so everybody, you know,

treated us different
and stuff.

I was so afraid
to even talk about it

or be able to say
"I have a disability,"

"I have a lack of something that
the majority of people have."

[Ida] He's had
that learning disability

from when he was,
like, five years old.

He would lose focus.

His attention span
wasn't there.

He just learned differently
than everybody else.

He was still learning and still
doing what he had to do,

but he was learning
a little differently.

It took him a longer time.

[Smith]
I think my embracing

of my disabilities
and whatnot

has allowed me
to continuously persevere

over that sh*t.

In the summer of 2021,

I had already made up my mind
that I was going to school.

I picked A&T,
and I played golf

with C.J. Paul,
Chris Paul's brother,

in LA, 'cause I was living
in LA at the time.

He was like, "Oh, you should
play on the golf team."

Bro, I was actually thinking
about doing something.

I wasn't thinking
about playing football.

He was like,
"Bro, nah, you go play golf,

you could make this thing work,
like, for real."

I was like, man...

We played golf on,
like, a Sunday.

Tuesday comes, he calls me,
"Yo, what you doin?"

I was like, nothin',
what's good?

You trying to go play?
He was like,

"Uh, I got something for you."

I was like,
what you talkin' about?

He was like, "Texas dude,"

turns out...
I think it was Coach Watkins.

Takes Coach Watkins,
he's like, "Yeah-yeah,

I heard you wanted to play,
da-da-da,"

and then
just started from there.

[Watkins]
My major concern was,

can we establish
your amateurism?

And can you help
our men's golf team

be better on the golf course?

sh*t.

That was like
some Tiger sh*t.

Hell nah.

That was tough, some
"Tiger Hood" sh*t right there.

Our golf staff contacted me

just to see how realistic

it... would be.

You know, I had to do
some research and find out

how possible it was,
and we kind of discussed

what would be required,
you know,

from an NCAA initial
eligibility standpoint.

It took a while,
but fortunately...

the NCAA did clear me.

[commentator] J.R. Smith is
petitioning the NCAA

to allow him to play golf.

[Stephen A. Smith]
Going back to school.

- Yeah.
- Getting his education

in liberal arts.

He's probably broke
from all the weed he smokes.

[Smith] I was getting
so much bad press,

so I didn't think
it was gonna happen,

but... fortunately, it did.

["Raise Up," Petey Pablo]

♪ North Carolina,
come on and raise up ♪

♪ Take your shirt off,
twist it 'round your head ♪

♪ Spin it like a helicopter,
North Carolina ♪

♪ Come on and raise up,
this one's for you ♪

♪ This one's for who?
Us-Us-Us ♪

♪ North Carolina,
come on and raise up ♪

♪ Take your shirt off,
twist it 'round your head ♪

♪ Spin it like a helicopter,
over and out ♪

No matter what,
if anything,

if you gonna take
this serious,

and this is
what you really wanna do,

more than anything,
you... can't short that.

[overlapping cheers]

Y'all said Aggie pride.

You heard?
See how it is?

You already know.

For sure.

If you could tell me
your last name.

- Uh, Smith.
- You said Smith.

- Yeah.
- And then your first name.

Earl, E-A-R-L.

And then come up
just a little bit,

you're a bit taller, so.

One, two, three.

- [camera snap]
- Thank you.

Where you get
your work done at?

Oh, Charlotte,
Bodies Illustrated.

You should check them out.
Tony or Michelle.

- Okay.
- Here you go.

- Appreciate it, thank you.
- Have a good one.

Ooh, and you cover my ID, man,

y'all be using my...
using my account,

ordering all that food
or something.

[music]

I'm anxious because
it's something totally different

and new, as a team member

of anything
other than basketball.

I think, for me,
it's just learning

and course management
and trying to figure it out.

Especially in competitive golf,
cause it's much different

than just playing around
with your friends

as opposed to playing
in a competition.

Seven, we no like seven.

Even though
it's on a par five?

- Par five, still...
- We no like six.

Being in a different
environment with coaches,

in a different sport,
that's a...

that's... I'm so eager
to see how they attack it

and approach the game.

[music]

I have some personal goals
as a student.

I really intend
on excelling and doing well,

because I never really
took school serious.

I hated being at school,
school wasn't for me,

wasn't my thing,
and now to be in a state of mind

as a grown man, being able
to go back to school,

when I'm on my time,
and be...

wanting to learn
what I wanna learn

and being able
to take those classes.

I take it a lot more serious.
Having that thirst

to want to be better is...
is what drives me.

And, for me,
more than anything,

is to continuously
make my family proud,

make my kids proud.

I feel like I got a...
a pretty uphill battle

to fight,
but I wanna.

[music]

[muffled speaking]

I want a picture for my daddy.

You gonna hang up
on Pops right now?

Yeah, we can call back, hold on.

f*ck'... better not
hang up on me like that.

- Get a degree?
- Word.

I got everything else,
I just need my degree.

[music]