Von Wafer

Wafer (right) with the Celtics
Shooting guard
Personal information
Born	(1985-07-21) July 21, 1985 (age 26) Homer, Louisiana
Nationality	American
High school	Pineview High School R.L. Paschal Laurinburg Institute Heritage Christian Academy
Listed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight	209 lb (95 kg)
Career information
College	Florida State
NBA Draft	2005 / Round: 2 / Pick: 39th overall
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
Pro career	2005–present
Career history
2005–2006	Los Angeles Lakers
2006–2007	Colorado 14ers
2007	Los Angeles Clippers
2007–2008	Denver Nuggets
2008	Portland Trail Blazers
2008–2009	Houston Rockets
2009	Olympiacos Piraeus (Greece)
2010–2011	Boston Celtics
2011	Vanoli Cremona (Italy)
2011–2012	Orlando Magic

Vakeaton Quamar "Von" Wafer (born on July 21, 1985) is an American professional basketball player.

He has previously played in the NBA with the L.A. Lakers, L.A. Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets and Boston Celtics. He was the 39th overall selection (ninth pick of the second round) in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Lakers. His nickname is "The Dutch Cookie".^[1]

High school[link]

Wafer attended Pineview High School in Lisbon, Louisiana during his freshman, sophomore and junior years of high school. He averaged 32 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists during his junior season. Up to that point, Wafer was a virtual unknown on the national recruiting scene. Tim Loring, the coach of the Arkansas Wings AAU team, invited Wafer to play for them the summer before his senior year. This allowed Wafer to display his skills on a wider stage, and by the end of the summer, he was considered to be one of the top ten seniors on many recruiting lists. He was also briefly at R.L. Paschal High School and Laurinburg Institute his senior year before deciding to attend and play at Heritage Christian Academy in Cleveland, Texas, where he averaged 26 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, and 4 blocks per game.

Wafer was the seventh McDonald's High School All-American to play at Florida State University. During the game, he scored 8 points and finished second to LeBron James in the McDonald's All-American slam-dunk contest.^[2]

College[link]

During his freshman year at Florida State University in the 2003–04 season, Wafer averaged 7.9 points in 17.5 minutes a game with the Seminoles. He ranked third among all ACC freshmen with 43 three-point field goals made and scored in double figures 12 times. As a sophomore during the 2004-05 season, he led the team in scoring (12.5 ppg) and three-point field goals made (65). He made more than one three-point field goal in 14 games and surpassed the 20-point mark on six occasions. Despite some success that year, he was suspended for two games early in the season and benched frequently later. The Tallahassee Democrat reported that his family explained the suspensions were because of missed classes and study sessions.^[3][4]

Professional career[link]

Wafer declared himself as an early-entry candidate for the 2005 NBA Draft after his sophomore year at FSU despite many draft experts predicting he would not be drafted. There were several hurdles he had to overcome to become a viable option for an NBA team to select him. Wafer was not invited to the annual Chicago pre-draft camp, which provides players who are not viewed as first-round prospects a chance to display their abilities in front of NBA team personnel. During a workout with the Phoenix Suns, Wafer reportedly was frustrated by the physical play from Jan Jagla, and responded by laying an intentional elbow to Jagla's nose, then walked off the court and ended the workout at that point.^[5][6] Los Angeles Lakers scout Irving Thomas, who played two seasons at FSU, saw three Seminoles games during the 2004–05 season and helped arrange a workout for Wafer with the Lakers.^[7] Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak saw enough of Wafer's ability that they used the second of their two second-round picks to select Wafer in the draft.

Wafer was placed on waivers by the Lakers on October 26, 2006. He played in one pre-season game due to a bruised left heel.^[8] Wafer then played for the Colorado 14ers of the NBA Development League during 2006-07, and was named Player of the Month in January 2007.^[9] He was signed to a ten-day contract by the Los Angeles Clippers on February 21.^[10] He played one minute^[11] without scoring before being waived a week later.^[12] On April 12, 2007, the Denver Nuggets signed Wafer for the remainder of the 2006-07 season.^[11]

On February 21, 2008, the Denver Nuggets traded Wafer to the Portland Trail Blazers for Taurean Green. Wafer changed his number from 22 (which he wore with the Nuggets) to 24, as number 22 had been retired by the Trail Blazers to honor Clyde Drexler.^[13]

Houston Rockets[link]

Wafer was signed by the Houston Rockets and managed to keep a spot on the team due to his hot shooting in the preseason. On January 13, 2009, Wafer scored a career-high 23 points on 10-14 shooting in 39 minutes against the Los Angeles Lakers. He found a regular place in the Rockets' starting lineup due to good performance as well as an injury to regular starter Tracy McGrady. He continued to impress by scoring 21 points versus the Jazz and hitting the game-winning three at a game in Boston that the Rockets won 89–85. In that month he averaged 14.3 points per game. After Wafer moved to a team in Greece, the Rockets offered him a contract midway through the next season. He signed the contract, but failed his physical, so he could not join the Rockets.

Olympiacos Piraeus[link]

Wafer joined the Greek Euroleague club Olympiacos Piraeus in August 2009, signing a two-year $10 million gross income contract.^[14][15] He was then waived by Olympiacos in December 2009.^[16] Wafer shot 36.4% from the field and averaged 3.0 points per game and 1.3 rebounds per game in the Greek A1 League with Olympiacos.^[17] In Euroleague play, he shot 50% from the field and averaged 7.7 points per game, 1.3 rebounds per game, and 1.0 assists per game.^[18]

Dallas Mavericks[link]

On February 24, 2010, Wafer signed a ten-day contract with the Dallas Mavericks.^[19] He was not expected to crack the rotation during his tenure and although he was eligible to play six games,^[20] Wafer finished his contract with Dallas without playing a single minute.^[21]

Boston Celtics[link]

On July 3, 2010, Wafer signed a free agent deal with the Boston Celtics.^[22] On October 29, 2010, he was involved in a locker-room altercation with new teammate Delonte West.^[23]

Vanoli Cremona[link]

In August 2011, during the 2011 NBA lockout, he signed a one-year contract with Vanoli Cremona in Italy.^[24]

Orlando Magic[link]

Wafer was traded to the Magic on December 12, 2011, along with Glen Davis for Brandon Bass.^[25] He was waived by the Magic at the end of the 2011-12 season.^[26]

Career transactions[link]

• June 28, 2005: Drafted 39th overall by Los Angeles Lakers in 2005 NBA Draft.
  • Assigned to D-League's Fort Worth Flyers on February 27, 2006 until March 22, 2006 and on April 12, 2006 until end of season.^[27]
• October 26, 2006: Waived by L.A. Lakers.^[28]
• November 2, 2006: Drafted 22nd overall by Colorado 14ers in 2006 D-League Draft.^[29]
• February 21, 2007: Signed as a free agent by Los Angeles Clippers.^[30]
• February 28, 2007: Waived by L.A. Clippers.^[12]
• March 6, 2007: Signed by D-League's Colorado.^[31]
• April 13, 2007: Signed as a free agent by Denver Nuggets.^[32]
• February 21, 2008: Traded by Denver to the Portland Trail Blazers for Taurean Green.^[33]
• September 29, 2008: Signed as a free agent by Houston Rockets.^[34]
• August 8, 2009: Signed as a free agent by Olympiacos Piraeus.^[14][35]
• December 11, 2009: Waived by Olympiacos Piraeus.^[36]
• February 24, 2010: Signed a ten-day contract with the Dallas Mavericks.^[37]
• July 3, 2010: Signed as a free agent by Boston Celtics.
• August 2011: Signed by Vanoli Cremona.
• December 12, 2011: Traded by Boston with Glen Davis to the Orlando Magic for Brandon Bass.
• May 29, 2012: Waived by Magic.^[26]

NBA career statistics[link]

Regular season[link]

Playoffs[link]

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Von Wafer at NBA.com
• Von Wafer at Basketball-Reference.com
• Euroleague.net Profile
• NBA D-League Profile
• Basketpedya.com Profile
• Greek A1 League Profile (Greek)
• ESPN.com FSU College Statistics

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Tagged since November 2010. Its lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. Tagged since November 2010.

JaJuan Johnson (born February 8, 1989) is an American professional basketball power forward with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played collegiate basketball at Purdue University. During his sophomore season, he was named a First-Team All-Big Ten selection. As a junior, he was named a Second-Team All-Big Ten selection. As a senior, a Consensus-All American as well as the Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

High school career[link]

Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Johnson attended Franklin Central High School in that city, where he played for head coach Mark James. Tall for his age, Johnson played on the B-team in the 7th and 8th grade. He finished his senior year averaging 20.6 points and 9.1 rebounds a game for the Flashes. Johnson was named to the Indiana All-Star Team with future NBA players, Eric Gordon and Jeff Teague.

College career[link]

2007–08[link]

The 6'10", 215 lb forward/center committed to the Purdue University Boilermakers to play under head coach Matt Painter as part of a top five recruiting class, along with Robbie Hummel, E'Twaun Moore and Scott Martin. He averaged 5.4 points and 3.1 rebounds a game, while starting in 17 of the 34 games in which he appeared in during his freshman season. He helped the Boilermakers to a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, including a game against Baylor in the first round, where he scored 10 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and blocked 2 shots in 20 minutes.^[1]

2008–09[link]

Johnson averaged 13.4 points (second on team) and led the conference with 2.2 blocks a game, for which, he was named a First-Team All-Big Ten selection as well as to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team along with teammate, Chris Kramer. He also led the conference shooting 54 percent from the field. Johnson opened conference play with a 15 rebound effort against Illinois on December 30, 2008. On February 3, 2009, he recorded a career high 30 points at Ohio State and had his career 7 blocks in a game at Northwestern on January 15, 2009. He recorded five double-doubles on the season, all coming in conference play. Johnson led Purdue to the program's first Big Ten Tournament Championship and was named to the all-tournament team and helped lead them to a Sweet Sixteen appearance. In the second round game in the NCAA Tournament against Washington in the last seconds, he blocked back-to-back shots to seal the win while adding 22 points and a total of 4 blocks. Finishing with a 27–10 record, he is one of four Boilermakers to share the school record for most games played in a season. He also moved amongst Joe Barry Carroll in the Purdue records with the third most blocks in a season with 78.

2009–10[link]

E'Twaun Moore, Johnson and Robbie Hummel at press conference (2010-01-23)

Johnson considered entering the 2009 NBA Draft, but made a verbal commitment to return for the junior year.^[2][3] He began his junior season as a preseason first team all-Big Ten selection by CBS Sports. On the season, He recorded nine double-doubles, while leading Purdue to its best start in 16 years (14–0). Johnson was named the Big Ten Player of the Week in late January, averaging 22.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in two games (2–0). On February 9, 2010, Johnson recorded his 1,000th career point in a road game win against #10 ranked Michigan State. Finishing with a 14–4 record in conference play, Johnson led Purdue to its first Big Ten title in fourteen years, climaxing with a road win against Penn State, where he had 21 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks, and shot 11–14 at the line. In an average of 31.3 minutes a game, Johnson averaged 15.4 points (3rd on team), 7.3 rebounds (1st), and 1 steal per game. Johnson shot 72 percent at the line, while leading the top ten ranked Purdue squad with 2 blocks a game and shooting 51 percent from the floor. Johnson was named Second-Team All-Big Ten and received consecutive Big Ten All-Defensive Team honors at the end of the regular season. With Purdue receiving a 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, Johnson led the Boilermakers in the First Round victory against Siena, where he had 23 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 blocks, leading to consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearances after beating Texas A&M in overtime. In his final game of his junior season, Johnson had team highs with 23 points, making 10 of 17 attempts, while tallying 5 rebounds and 4 blocks in a losing effort against Duke. Johnson ended this junior season with the second most career blocks in school history with 184, after Joe Barry Carroll's 349 from 1977 to 1980. Johnson held the third highest average in school history with 1.7 blocks per game, behind Carroll and Russell Cross. He spent the following summer practicing with Team USA.

2010–11[link]

Johnson, along with teammate E'Twaun Moore, entered the 2010 NBA Draft, but withdrew and returned to school after scouts projected him as a second-round pick.^[4] JaJuan entered his senior season as an AP Preseason First Team-All American,.^[5] He recorded twelve double-doubles on the season and recorded a career high of 31 points against Indiana State. On February 27, Johnson achieved career highs with 17 rebounds and 7 blocks against Michigan State. He scored in double-figures every game, which included twenty two 20+ games. JaJuan was named a Sporting News Midseason First-Team All-American, along with the likes of Nolan Smith, Jordan Hamilton, Kemba Walker, and fellow Big Ten player, Jared Sullinger. In his senior season, JaJuan was the only player in the nation with career numbers of more than 1,900 points, 850 rebounds, and 250 blocks. On March 7, Johnson was named Big Ten Player of the Year and also Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, as well as being selected for the First Team All-Big Ten along with teammate E'Twaun Moore. He led the Big Ten in scoring and in blocks, as well as having the nation's highest scoring average for a player at the center position. With a 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, Purdue faced St. Peter's in the First Round, where JaJuan scored 16 points and grabbed a career postseason-high 16 rebounds. In his last game as a Boilermaker, JaJuan had 25 points and 14 rebounds against Virginia Commonwealth in an 18-point loss. JaJuan averaged 20.5 points (1st on team), 8.6 rebounds (1st), 2.3 blocks (1st), 1 assist, 1 steal, and shot 49.5 percent from the floor and 81 percent from the line (1st). He led Purdue to a 26-8 record and a 2nd place finish in conference play in his last season as a Boilermaker and was named a Consensus-All American, Purdue's first since Glenn Robinson and seventeenth overall. He also became the first Boilermaker to be given the Pete Newell Big Man Award, an award given to the year's best big man. He was picked to the First Team All-America by Fox Sports.^[6]

Career notes[link]

Johnson finished his career at Purdue as the seventh highest scorer in school history (1,919), averaging 13.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2 blocks, .7 assists, and .7 steals. He shares school records with games in a season (37), total games (140), and games won (107). He finished 2nd in school history in career blocks with 263, as well as tallying 854 rebounds. On November 29, 2011, Johnson appeared in dedication of the eleventh number-banner to be displayed at Mackey Arena, which displayed his last name and jersey #25 for being named a Consensus All-American his senior season.

NBA career[link]

Boston Celtics[link]

2011-2012[link]

JaJuan Johnson was drafted by the New Jersey Nets as the 27th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and subsequently traded to the Boston Celtics along with a 2014 second-round pick for the rights to MarShon Brooks.^[7]

NBA statistics[link]

References[link]

Charlie Villanueva

No. 31 – Detroit Pistons
Power forward
Personal information
Born	(1984-08-24) August 24, 1984 (age 27) Queens, New York
Nationality	American Dominican
Listed height	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight	232 lb (105 kg)
Career information
College	Connecticut (2003–2005)
NBA Draft	2005 / Round: 1 / Pick: 7th overall
Selected by the Toronto Raptors
Pro career	2005–present
Career history
2005–2006	Toronto Raptors
2006–2009	Milwaukee Bucks
2009–present	Detroit Pistons
Career highlights and awards
NBA All-Rookie First Team (2006) NCAA Champion (2004)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Men’s basketball Competitor for  Dominican Republic FIBA Americas Championship Bronze 2011 Mar del Plata National team Centrobasket Silver 2010 Santo Domingo National team Competitor for  United States FIBA Americas U20 Championship Gold 2004 Halifax National team

Charlie Alexander Villanueva (born August 24, 1984 in Queens, New York City) is an American basketball player who currently plays for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association.^[1]

The son of Dominican immigrants, Villanueva was raised in Elmhurst, Queens, New York. He was drafted at the age of 20, seventh overall pick, in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors. He also holds Dominican citizenship and therefore he has represented the Dominican Republic national basketball team in international competition.^[2][3]

High school[link]

During his freshman year, Villanueva attended Newtown High School in Queens, New York, where he was a teammate of future NBA player Smush Parker. He spent his next three years at Blair Academy in Blairstown, New Jersey, where he played with another future NBA player, Luol Deng. Villanueva received All-American honors as a senior and was named New Jersey Co-Player of the Year. He entered the 2003 NBA Draft, but withdrew his eligibility so he could play basketball at the University of Connecticut.^[4] In his senior year, he was 5th place in the high school slam dunk contest, ahead of Ndudi Ebi, Travis Outlaw, and Brittany Hunter, and behind Shannon Brown, Von Wafer, J.R. Giddens, and the winner, LeBron James.

College career[link]

Villanueva originally gave a verbal commitment to play for the University of Illinois, but after Bill Self left the Illini for the University of Kansas, Villanueva withdrew his commitment. He considered following Self to the Jayhawks, but instead opted to play for University of Connecticut.^[5]

In his freshman year at UConn, Villanueva earned Big East All-Rookie Team honors and was a key reserve member of the 2004 NCAA National Championship team. As a sophomore at UConn, he averaged 13.6 points and 8.3 rebounds, leading the team in scoring and receiving team MVP and Second Team All-Big East honors. Villanueva elected to enter the 2005 NBA Draft after two years at UConn.^[4]

NBA career[link]

The Toronto Raptors were widely criticized for selecting Villanueva seventh overall in the 2005 NBA Draft,^[6] but he responded with a solid rookie campaign. He averaged 13 points and 6.4 rebounds in 81 games. He finished second among rookies in points and rebounds, and third in minutes and blocked shots. He also tallied 12 double-doubles and set the Raptors' rookie records for points (48) and rebounds (18) in a game. Villanueva also appeared in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and was named to the All-NBA Rookie First Team.^[4]

Villanueva was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for point guard T. J. Ford and cash considerations on June 30, 2006.

In March 2009 he was reprimanded by Bucks coach Scott Skiles for posting a message on his Twitter account during halftime of the Bucks–Celtics game.^[7]

As the season progressed Villanueva started to put up better statistics, and by the end of the year he was averaging a career high in points and rebounds (16.2 and 6.7 respectively).^[8][9]

In June 2009, Villanueva signed a five year contract with the Pistons worth $35 million.^[10]

National team[link]

Villanueva represented the United States basketball team at youth levels. In 2009, Villanueva wanted to switch sports nationality to the Dominican Republic. Under FIBA rules, he asked USA Basketball to release him in order to switch his sports nationality.^[11] He played for the Dominican Republic national basketball team in the 2009 FIBA Americas Championship.^[2]

Personal[link]

Villanueva has alopecia universalis, a variation of alopecia areata, an autoimmune skin disease. This results in hair loss on the scalp and/or elsewhere on the body, but the disease is not otherwise life-threatening or harmful. Villanueva is a spokesman for the NAAF (National Alopecia Areata Foundation),^[4] and received the February 2006 Community Assist Award from the NBA for his work with the organization.^[12]

Villanueva is fluent in Spanish, as it is the language he speaks with his family.

Honors[link]

• Mar 2003 – New Jersey State High School Co-Player of the Year, shared with Luol Deng
• Mar 2003 – New Jersey High School All-State Team Honor Selection
• Mar 2003 – McDonald's High School All-American
• Mar 2004 – Big East Conference All-Rookie Team
• Apr 2004 – NCAA National Championship, UConn Huskies
• Jul 2004 – USA Junior World Basketball Team Gold Medalist
• Mar 2005 – Big East All-Conference Second Team
• Jun 2005 – NBA Draft Lottery Seventh Pick
• Oct 2005 – Toronto Raptors Community MVP Award
• Nov 2005 – Toronto Raptors Community MVP Award
• Dec 2005 – Named NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month
• Feb 2006 – Selected to compete in the 2006 T-Mobile NBA All-Star Rookie Challenge in Houston
• Feb 2006 – NBA Cares Community Assist Award
• Mar 2006 – Toronto Raptors Franchise Rookie Record: Single-Game 48 Points
• Apr 2006 – Toronto Raptors Franchise Rookie Record: Single-Game 18 Rebounds
• May 2006 – NBA Rookie of the Year Runner Up, behind Chris Paul
• May 2006 – NBA All-Rookie First Team Honors
• Aug 2008 – NBA Cares Community Assist Award
• Sep 2008 - Latin Pride National Awards Outstanding Athlete

Trivia[link]

• His idol growing up was Reggie Miller. He wears #31 as a tribute to Miller, who retired after the 2004-05 season.^[4]

NBA career statistics[link]

Regular season[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Charlie Villanueva at NBA.com
• Charlie Villanueva at Basketball-Reference.com
• Official Website of Charlie Villanueva

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J. R. Smith

Smith with the Nuggets
No. 8 – New York Knicks
Shooting guard
Personal information
Born	(1985-09-09) September 9, 1985 (age 26) Freehold, New Jersey
Nationality	American
High school	Lakewood HS (Lakewood Township, New Jersey) St. Benedict's Preparatory School (Newark, New Jersey)
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
NBA Draft	2004 / Round: 1 / Pick: 18th overall
Selected by the New Orleans Hornets
Pro career	2004–present
Career history
2004–2006	New Orleans Hornets
2006–2011	Denver Nuggets
2011–2012	Zhejiang Golden Bulls (China)
2012–present	New York Knicks
Career highlights and awards
McDonald's All-American Game MVP (2004) NBA All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Contest Participant (2005, 2009) CBA All-Star (2012)
Stats at NBA.com

Earl Joseph Smith III,^[1] known as J. R. Smith (born September 9, 1985, in Freehold, New Jersey), is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks.

High school[link]

Before attending high school, Smith attended Millstone Middle School and graduated in 1999. From there, he moved on to Steinert High School and McCorristin Catholic High School before transferring to Lakewood High School.^[2] Smith played high school basketball for the first time at Lakewood High School. He would later transfer to Saint Benedict's Preparatory School and play basketball there as well. During his career there, he would average over 27 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. In the fall of 2003, Smith signed a letter of intent to play at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

NBA[link]

In April 2004, following a surprisingly strong showing at the McDonald's All-American Game (in which he was named game MVP), Smith decided to forgo college and make himself eligible for the NBA Draft. He was selected eighteenth overall in the first round of the 2004 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Hornets—one of nine players who were drafted that year straight out of high school. In his rookie season, he averaged 10.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.

Smith participated in the Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk Competition in 2005, finishing behind Amar'e Stoudemire and the eventual winner, Josh Smith.

On July 13, 2006, the Hornets formally traded Smith and forward–center P.J. Brown to the Chicago Bulls for center Tyson Chandler.^[3] On July 19, 2006, Smith was traded again, this time to the Denver Nuggets for guard Howard Eisley and two 2007 second-round draft picks.^[4]

On December 16, 2006, Smith was involved in the Knicks–Nuggets brawl. He was suspended for 10 games.^[5]

On February 20, 2007, Smith suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee which required knee surgery. He missed 3–4 weeks.

On October 13, 2007, Smith was involved in an incident at a Denver nightclub. The Nuggets suspended him for the first three regular season games of the NBA 2007-2008 season for his role in the incident.

On July 25, 2008, Smith was added to the Team USA Basketball select team to help the senior team prepare for the Olympics.

On February 10, 2009, Smith was chosen to replace the injured Rudy Gay in the 2009 Slam Dunk Contest.^[6]

On April 13, 2009, Smith scored a career-high 45 points on 13-of-22 shooting, as part of a 118-98 home win over the Sacramento Kings. He made a franchise-record 11 three-pointers during the game, which was one shy of tying the NBA record.^[7]

For the 2009-10 season, Smith and teammate Chauncey Billups agreed to change jersey numbers. Smith changed to the No. 5 jersey, in order to accommodate Billups' request to wear No. 1, the same number Billups wore with the Detroit Pistons.^[8] On December 23, Smith scored 41 points against the Atlanta Hawks which included 10 three-pointers, one shy of his record. Smith shot 10-of-17 from 3-point range.

He finished the 2009-10 season with the second most three-pointers in the league off the bench.

In 2012, after playing in China due to the lockout, he returned to the NBA and signed with the New York Knicks.

NBA playoffs[link]

Smith's first trip to the playoffs during the 2006-2007 season with the Denver Nuggets proved disappointing. Smith, a 39% 3-point shooter during the regular season, failed to connect on any three-point shots in the first four games and also was criticized for poor decision-making by coach George Karl. After game four, Karl informed reporters of his plan to bench Smith for all of game 5. Karl said, "He's done," and explained his frustrations over Smith's poor judgment to shoot a three late in the game, "I have no idea what planet that came from." Karl told the Associated Press that he had drawn up the play to give the ball to either Allen Iverson or Carmelo Anthony. Karl did not stop there and continued venting over Smith's poor play, "And then, of course the one with eight seconds to go, from 50 feet, I just love the dignity of the game being insulted right in front of me."^[9]

Smith had a better showing in his second trip to the playoffs during a first-round matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers. He played 27.0 minutes, averaging 18.3 points per game on 53.5% shooting. He also had a 31.8% three-point shooting percentage. Although the Nuggets were swept in the first round, Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant said in a postgame interview that, "J. R. is a good young player. He was a lot to handle."

On his third trip to the playoffs, Smith averaged 14.9 points per game on 45.4% shooting, providing scoring off the bench. He helped the Nuggets make the Western Conference Finals before losing to the Lakers.

NBA career transactions[link]

• June 24, 2004: Drafted 18th overall by New Orleans Hornets in 2004 NBA Draft.
• July 14, 2006: Traded by New Orleans along with P. J. Brown to the Chicago Bulls for Tyson Chandler.^[10]
• July 20, 2006: Traded by Chicago to the Denver Nuggets for Howard Eisley and two future second-round draft picks.^[11]
• September 13, 2011: Signed a one year deal with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls.
• February 17, 2012: Signed by the New York Knicks.^[12]

China[link]

During the 2011 NBA lockout, Smith signed with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Because he did not secure an opt-out clause, he could not return to the NBA until the end of the 2011-12 CBA season.^[13][14]

On February 1, 2012, Smith scored an impressive 60 points off the bench during a 122-110 victory over the Qingdao Eagles.^[15] Two days later, he netted 41 points off the bench in a narrow 119-115 triumph over the Shandong Lions.^[16]

During his time with the Golden Bulls, Smith won a Foreign Player of the Week award,^[17] and was selected as a starter for the Southern Division All-Stars in the 2012 CBA All-Star Game, but did not play due to "personal reasons."^[18][19]

Individual accolades notwithstanding, Smith was unable to lead Zhejiang into the 2012 CBA Playoffs, with the squad eliminated from contention as of February 12. But this also cleared a path back to the NBA, and he signed with the Knicks five days later, stepping right into the middle of Linsanity.

NBA career statistics[link]

Regular season[link]

Playoffs[link]

International career statistics[link]