J.R. Smith tweets like he plays: If he has a shot, he’s going to take it.
Case in point: The Cleveland Cavaliers guard apparently heard Tracy McGrady’s Basketball Hall of Fame acceptance speech Friday, in which the former NBA star disagreed with the argument that you need to win at least one championship to validate your NBA career.
“Social media can give a lot of people voices these days, and the first thing they say is ‘No rings, no rings,'” McGrady said, via MassLive.com. “… But I go back at them with this: Anybody can win a championship. Everybody can’t get in the Hall of Fame.”
McGrady doesn’t have a title on his résumé, so it makes sense he subscribes to this theory. Smith, on the other hand, does not. And he let the whole world know Sunday night.
Smith not only disagreed with McGrady, but he essentially said T-Mac doesn’t belong in the Hall. He also called out the seven-time All-Star for playing for individual accolades, rather than trying to win a championship.
Smith is on the other side of the spectrum here: He’s never made an All-Star team and won’t sniff the Hall of Fame, but he does have a ring as a solid contributor on the Cavs’ 2015-16 title team.
The championship debate is a tricky one; players who form superteams or join championship contenders are viewed as ring-chasers (cough, Kevin Durant, cough), but those who stay loyal to less successful clubs run the risk of leaving the game with an incomplete legacy. In short: We’re not sure who’s right here. But Smith won’t be sending T-Mac a gift basket any time soon.
Thumbnail photo via Aaron Doster/USA TODAY Sports Images
