Right when JR Smith was starting to make a real name for himself in the league, his world crumbled overnight.
The year was 2007 when his close friend, Andre Bell, tragically lost his life in a car crash. The 6-foot-6 guard was the one behind the wheel. Two years later, the verdict came down, ordering Smith to spend the next 90 days in jail.
The loss of a close friend, combined with the traumatic experience of going to jail and losing his freedom, became too heavy for a young man who had been living life to the fullest. Looking back today, he remembers how few people from the NBA actually stood by him during the darkest moment of his life.
"There's a few players that you really wouldn't expect, that was there for me when I was going through that time," Smith said on "The Pivot Podcast." "It's crazy because I had all these quote-unquote great coaches and all these people, and it was three people who came to see me when I was in jail out of all of that. And then it was probably two people, I feel, who genuinely cared when I got out on how I was gonna really push through."
Despite having millions in the bank, serving his time and maintaining his status as an NBA star, Smith was completely destroyed on the inside. Snapping back to his old self was anything but easy, and his parents ended up playing a major role.
"My parents was the ones who was, after I got out, I really felt those was the ones who was obviously gonna help me mentally engage and get back to myself because I was literally, I felt I was dead inside," he said. "And people don't really understand, like, it's one thing if you lose somebody, but it's a whole 'nother thing if you lose somebody and it's your fault."
"And I gotta live with his mom not ever seeing her son again. I gotta live with that being in my hands. And for me, a lot of that was probably the hardest, next to my daughter, the hardest shit I ever had to do," he added. "And nobody, nobody cared. I got back to the season, nobody cared."
Even though his sentence was eventually cut down to 24 days, the damage from that tragic loss was permanent. Life kept moving at a lightning-fast pace, and Smith had to rush back into his basketball shoes. It wasn't easy from the jump, and it quickly showed in his box scores.
But as he recalls, nobody actually cared that he didn't look like himself on the court. That lack of empathy left an even deeper scar.
"I had coaches who really didn't, and the organization who did not care about it. They made it seem like it was just, everybody goes through something. And then, when my play isn't to that level of expertise, you don't check in, nothing. It's just, he's a problem. He's out all the time, he's drinking, he's smoking, he's doing this, he's doing that. Like, bro, you don't see, you don't wanna intervene and try to help? Yeah," Smith recalled.
"You write terrible articles, you put out bad reps to others, to damn near the league. At no point do you wanna say, yo, man, just, wanna talk, anything going on? Can I help you? Can I get you help? None of that. None of that. Just kill your character completely," he added.
All of that left him feeling completely abandoned . Suddenly, all those millions on his account meant absolutely nothing, even though Bell's mother had forgiven Smith, knowing it was just a horrible accident.
Later in the interview, the New Jersey native admitted that he played through depression for about 70 percent of his NBA career. It took him a long time to refocus on basketball, finding some solace with the New York Knicks , where he ultimately played the best basketball of his life.
Still, the fact that he battled severe mental health issues for most of his career is deeply alarming. It serves as a heavy reminder of how much society impacts a person regardless of their status, and why everyone needs to keep their eyes open to those struggling around them.
Related: "Now I am bleeding Orange & Blue" - J.R. Smith admits he used to hate the New York Knicks
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jun 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
