J.R. Smith regrets spending $90 million career earnings on clubbing than on his hood: "We'd rather throw $60,000 in the strip club"

Selected as the 18th pick in the 2004 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Hornets, J.R. Smith went on to play 17 seasons in the league.

Post-NBA career, J.R. Smith decided to attend college at North Carolina A&T State University. He was supposed to go to college before declaring for the draft but decided to skip it after he won co-MVP with Dwight Howard in the 2004 McDonald's All-American Game.

Now in college, Megan Sauer from CNBC's "Make It," talked about J.R. Smith's interview with Brandon Marshall from the "I Am Athlete" podcast. In the interview, Smith talked about his regret in not giving back to the community back when he was still playing in the NBA.

“I could have fed my whole community 10 times over with the money I was just [paying in fines for being] late on the bus,” Smith said. "You know how many people you can change [their] lifestyle with $10 million in our hood? We’d rather go throw $60,000 in the strip club…than go feed 2,500 people in the hood.”

Back in his playing days in the NBA, J.R. Smith was viewed as an interesting individual due to his manner on and off the court. From one controversy to the next, such as the time he was caught using Marijuana back in 2013, while playing for the New York Knicks.

But as he got older, especially now that he is retired and playing for his college's golf team, Smith has shown growth as an individual in the way he views life.

---

J.R. Smith on playing with LeBron James during his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers

In an interview with Bomani Jones on Game Theory, J.R. Smith talked about the experience of playing alongside LeBron James.

"It's a gift and a curse playing with LeBron," Smith said. "I love Bron to death and I love playing on his team because for me, I feel like I thrive more under the pressure, but a lot of guys don't like it."

During his five seasons playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Smith averaged 10.3 points per game (40.1% shooting, including 38.1% from 3-point range). He was a pivotal piece in the Cavaliers' championship run in 2016.

However, his time in Cleveland was spoiled, when he blundered an opportunity to steal a game from the Golden State Warriors in the 2018 Finals. Smith was able to get the rebound off a missed free-throw from George Hill and instead of putting the ball back in or giving it back to LeBron James, he dribbled the ball out until time ran out, resulting in overtime and a loss.