J.R. Smith Arrested On Assault Charge For “Family Violence”

Former NBA player J.R. Smith has landed in legal trouble.

According to ESPN, the two-time NBA champion was arrested in Texas on Monday and charged with assault causing “bodily injury family violence.”

The details and circumstances surrounding the arrest are still unknown. Cops weren’t called to the scene; instead, an active warrant was issued for his arrest. 

A police officer’s in-car license plate reader alerted them to a vehicle traveling on Interstate 30, north of Dallas, around 2:45 p.m.

Smith was pulled over and arrested after the traffic stop. He was driving with his brother, and police released the car to him after Smith was taken into custody and taken to Hunt County Detention Center.

The police department also declined to release more information, saying only that Smith is part of an “ongoing investigation” and will be arraigned in Tarrant County.

Smith’s legal troubles date back to 2007, when the then Denver Nuggets player was driving a car that got into a accident that killed his friend, and two years later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of reckless driving.

He served 24 days in jail, completed 500 hours of community service, and the NBA suspended him for seven games, given the tragic crash and other dings on his driving record, including more speeding citations and three license suspensions. 

He got his NBA start with the New Orleans Pelicans but spent most of his career with the Nuggets. From there, he won Sixth Man of the Year with the Knicks before joining up with LeBron James in Cleveland to win a championship in 2016. He’d end his career with in the NBA bubble in 2020, earning another ring on a LeBron-led team.

Since then, he’s re-enrolled in classes at North Carolina A&T, joined the golf team, and earned a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies in 2026.

See social media’s reaction to the arrest below.