Cavs star J.R. Smith’s tattoo at centre of NBA fire storm

THE ink has hardly dried on J.R. Smith’s new tattoo, and the Cavaliers guard may be facing a fine from the NBA.

According to Smith, he has been threatened with discipline from the league if he doesn’t cover up the tattoo — of a logo by a New York-based streetwear company called Supreme — on the back of his right calf for games during the 2018-19 season.

“So I was informed today that I would be fined every game if I don’t cover up my ‘SUPREME TATTOO’ on my legs during games!!” Smith wrote on his Instagram account, adding three crying laughing emojis to the sentence followed by a middle finger emoji. “These people in the league office are something else!”

League spokesman Mike Bass told ESPN’s Darren Rovell: “NBA rules prohibit players from displaying any commercial logos or corporate insignia on their body or in their hair.”

Smith got the tattoo in August and showed it off on Instagram. He previously wore a Supreme shooting sleeve during a December game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

The NBA’s uniform policy, stated in the collective bargaining agreement, warns that wearing the sleeve also is a violation. The dress code does not mention any such limitations for players wearing tattoos, though.

Other players in the league have similar, but less controversial, tattoos, according to USA Today, which noted that Marcin Gortat, who is not sponsored by Nike, has a Michael Jordan Jumpman logo inked on him.

It comes just one week since Smith opened up on his infamous finals series blunder against the Warriors.

It’s been labelled one of the biggest blunders in basketball, but to the man at the centre of the controversy it was 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.”

The play that decided Game 1. pic.twitter.com/e1UeOv57Rn

— ESPN (@espn) June 1, 2018

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.”

The Cavaliers will begin the season at Toronto on October 17.