Former NBA champion J.R. Smith won the Academic Athlete of the Year Award at North Carolina A&T, a storied HBCU, where he began matriculating in the fall. Smith aced all his classes and knocked in a few birdies for the golf team too, to win the honors.
When Smith recorded his first 4.0 during his first trimester, he likened the feeling to winning the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award.
➖August 11, 2021: 2x NBA Champ @TheRealJRSmith enrolls at North Carolina A&T with plans to play on golf team.
— Boardroom (@boardroom) April 26, 2022
➖April 25, 2022: Smith wins @ncatsuaggies Academic Athlete of the Year award with a 4.0 GPA.
What a legend.
(📷: @Turkin35) pic.twitter.com/tJm6o9e0UE
Smith has done what many promise and few achieve. He left the glitz and glamour of the NBA — where he won NBA championships with LeBron James in Cleveland and Los Angeles — and returned to the classroom.
Smith, who went straight from high school to the NBA, missed college the first time he had the chance, deciding to pursue a different dream and bank millions in the process.
But Smith is clearly making the most of his time on campus now, and serving as an inspiration to millions.
