FILE — JR Smith of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts after a three point basket during the first half against the Miami Heat in Game Three of the 2020 NBA Final on October 04, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images/AFP
MANILA, Philippines — JR Smith has had a lot of teammates throughout his basketball career, having played five NBA franchises ahead of what would be his 18th season in the league.
And of all the players he’s been teammates with throughout the years, there was only one whom he never got the hang of.
“Throughout my whole career, it’s only one teammate I really don’t like. And he knows that. And everybody else, I’m just cool with,” Smith said on the All Things Covered podcast as posted on Bleacher Report. “… This dude Sam Dekker, dog. I can’t—this dude. He did some bulls**t on the bus one day, talking some (Donald) Trump s**t, and I just wasn’t having it.”
“Some people go their life not aware of somebody else’s circumstances. He’s a person who’s very aware of somebody else’s circumstances and wants to keep them there as opposed to help them elevate up. I don’t respect anything about that.”
Smith and Sam Dekker were briefly teammates with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018.
After playing just nine games with the Cavaliers, Dekker was traded to Washington the same year and played 38 games for the Wizards, averaging 6.1 points and 3.0 rebounds.
Dekker now plays in the Turkish Super League.
The 35-year-old Smith just won his second NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this month.