J.R. Smith’s explanation for incredible NBA Finals brain fade

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It was a blunder for the ages. A moment that had millions of fans across the country screaming at their TVs. It broke the internet. It broke LeBron James.

But to J.R. Smith, it was nothing more than an “honest mistake.”

“I’ve messed up so many times in my life,” Smith told ESPN’s The Undefeated in a feature published Tuesday. “I mean, I can’t just point at one thing to be mad at.”

Smith’s now-infamous gaffe occurred with 4.7 seconds left in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, with his Cavaliers matched up against the heavily favoured Golden State Warriors. Behind a heroic James performance (51 points), George Hill had a chance to take the lead with two free throws. After making the first, he missed the second. Smith got the rebound.

And then … he dribbled. And dribbled some more. By the time he realised his team wasn’t ahead and passed the ball back to Hill, it was too late to get off a quality shot.

The Warriors won the game in overtime, 124-114. They would then go on to sweep the series.

“It was tough, but it was the same after Game 2, 3 and 4,” Smith said. “I didn’t take it no harder than those losses just because I made a mistake.”

In the days and months that followed, Smith became a national punching bag. Every analyst and fan in the country was looking for new ways to rip into him. The image of a flabbergasted James pointing to the basket was memed thousands of times over. A month later, James was in Los Angeles as the new face of the Lakers.

But Smith isn’t dwelling on it, and has kept a remarkably grounded view of the incident in hindsight.

“The main thing was, OK, granted, you didn’t shoot the ball, but what if you ain’t get the rebound?” Smith said. “Then what? We still would have been in the same situation. I could have shot and missed. Then what?”

“I mean, it’s an honest mistake. People make mistakes all the time.”

If anything, that mistake has prompted him to work harder than ever, according to his trainer and longtime friend, Chris Brickley.

“This has been by far the most he’s been in the gym,” Brickley told The Undefeated. “We’ve worked out at 7 in the morning this summer, 8 in the morning this summer. We’ve also worked out at midnight. We’ve put in a ton of work. This has been the most that I’ve witnessed him work on his game.

“He’s an extremely mentally tough person. I think that situation just made him more focused.”