A Texas judge ordered former NBA champion J.R. Smith to stay away from the woman accusing him of assault, with the order running through Dec. 29.
With an October hearing looming, the order adds a new layer to a case that has dragged the two-time champion’s post-basketball comeback into a courtroom. Smith has not yet entered a plea in the case.
The emergency protective order, signed Sept. 29, bars Smith from any communication with the woman except through an attorney, according to the TMZ staff report on the order. He must stay 333 yards from her home and workplace, roughly 1,000 feet, and cannot possess a firearm or ammunition.
The California Post first reported the order, describing the underlying allegation as causing “serious bodily injury.” Smith has not been found guilty of anything and is presumed innocent.
J.R. Smith Assault Arrest Timeline
A criminal complaint filed Oct. 2 accuses Smith of “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly” injuring a woman on Sept. 18 by hitting, grabbing or pushing her with his hand, according to a New York Post report on the case. Court papers describe her as a family or household member, or someone he was dating. Her identity has not been released.
Southlake police issued a warrant shortly after the alleged incident. A license-plate reader flagged Smith’s vehicle on Interstate 30 in Royse City, in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, on Sept. 28, and Chief of Police Kirk Aldridge said officers confirmed the warrant, stopped the car and arrested him, according to ESPN and its traffic stop reporting. His brother, a passenger, drove away in the car.
Booked into the Hunt County Detention Center on one misdemeanor count of assault causing bodily injury, family violence, Smith posted a $5,000 bond and walked out the night of Sept. 29, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram report on his release.
Smith’s attorney, Justin Moore, issued a comment on the charges. “JR is eager to see this matter resolved and has full confidence in the legal process. He is presumed innocent, and we will address this matter in Court,” Moore said, as quoted by ESPN.
J.R. Smith Court Date and Career
A Southlake police spokesperson said Smith will be arraigned in Tarrant County. No hearing date is public beyond “later this month.” Texas law generally treats assault causing bodily injury against a family member or dating partner as a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine. Nothing public points to a felony filing.
Smith, 41, played 16 NBA seasons, won Sixth Man of the Year with the New York Knicks in 2013 and captured titles with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, according to a Reuters account of Smith’s playing career. He was a first-rioujnd draft pick, 18th overall, of the then-New Orleans Hornets in 2004.
Smith then played five seasons with the Denver Nuggets and three full seasons with the New York Knicks who traded him during the 2014-2015 season to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The following season he was a member of the 2015-2016 Cleveland team, led by LeBron James, that won the NBA championship.
He later enrolled at North Carolina A&T, joined the golf team and graduated in May with a 4.0 grade-point average.
His earlier legal history includes a 2009 jail term for reckless driving after a 2007 crash that killed a passenger, plus a 2018 criminal-mischief case that ended with $600 in restitution. None involved a family-violence conviction.
NBA Champion J.R. Smith Faces New Legal Trouble 10 Days After Arrest