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Sports
J. R. Smith Breaks Down On
Richard Jefferson Says He's Retiring After Title With Cavaliers
Podium, Credits Family
With tears streaming down his face during an emotional postgame news conference after winning his first NBA championship on Sunday, Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith credited his fam- ily, and especially his father, for being a key source of in- spiration.
"I mean, my parents, my family, that's the biggest in- spiration in my life," Smith said while fighting back tears after the Cavaliers beat the Warriors 93-89 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. "I've been in a lot of dark spots in my life, and if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be able to get out of it. But they are who they are."
"They fought with me. They yelled at me, they screamed at me, they loved me, they hugged me, they cried with me, and they al- ways stuck by my side no matter right or wrong," said Smith, who scored 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting in 39 minutes.
Becoming increasingly emotional, Smith said: "I know a lot of people don't have their parents in their life, their mother, their fa- ther, but I've got the best two you could ask for, I swear. There's six of us, and they didn't treat any of us differ- ent. They loved us the same. They treated us all the same, and I just wanted to be like them when I grow up."
Smith's father stood
J.R. Smith breaks down while discussing his family's role in keeping him on track.
nearby while Smith deliv- ered the tearful speech -- on Father's Day, no less.
"I mean, my dad is easily one of my biggest inspira- tions to play this game," Smith said. "To hear people talk bad about me, it hurts me because I know it hurts him, and that's not who I am. And I know he raised me bet- ter,andIknowIwanttodo better. Just everything I do is for my parents and my fam- ily.
"I mean, I don't really -- the cars are nice, the houses are nice, but none of this mat- ters without them. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here. I don't know where I would be, honestly. If it wasn't for them, if it wasn't for the structure and the backbone that I have, I wouldn't be able to mess up and keep coming back and being able to sit in front of you as a world champion."
When he finished talking, Smith went into the crowd and embraced his father, who was clearly moved.
Amid the celebration in the Cleveland Cavaliers locker room, forward Richard Jefferson said he is retiring, according to mul- tiple reports.
Jefferson just completed his first season in Cleveland and the 15th of his NBA ca- reer.
He went to the Finals with the Nets in his first two sea- sons in the league, losing both times. The Nets were swept by the Lakers in 2002, then lost to the Spurs in six
It looks like Richard Jef- ferson's 15th season in the league will be his last.
games in 2003.
Jefferson never got back
to the Finals, until this sea- son, his last.
He averaged 13.3 points over his career, with 22.6 points per game his best out- put, with the Nets in 2007- 08.
In his final season, Jef- ferson averaged 17.9 min- utes and 5.5 points a game in the regular season for Cleve- land, and 18.2 minutes and 5.4 points in the postseason run to the title.
Floyd Mayweather Buys Second Private Jet
What do you do when you retire and have more money than you can imagine? You spend it... and that's what Floyd Mayweather is doing.
The boxing superstar popped up on Instagram last week, offering a brief tour of a new private jet that he pur- chased. Yes, it's his second jet, and he's named it the Air Mayweather 2.
Although Mayweather deleted the video shortly after, but TMZ reports that he did, in fact, buy the sec- ond jet, because one just wasn't enough... apparently.
Mayweather's rep says,
FLOYD MAYWEATHER
"It’s a 12 passenger Gulf- stream III with gold cup holders, gold sink, gold ac- cents throughout. It has all
fully stocked kitchen."
It's unclear how much he dropped on the new jet, but similar jets typically go for
almost $40 million.
white
leather
seats
and a
Despite Finals Loss, Golden State Warriors Are Favorites In 2017
STEPHEN CURRY
Lakers Guard Nick Young, Australian Rapper Iggy Azalea Announce Separation
Los Angeles Lakers reserve guard Nick Young and Aus- tralian rapper Iggy Azalea each posted on social media Sunday messages indicating that the pair, who were once engaged, have separated.
In an Instagram post on her verified account, Azalea wrote, in part, “Unfortu- nately, although I love Nick and have tried and tried to rebuild my trust in him, it’s become apparent in the last few weeks I am unable to.”
Young tweeted later from his verified account, “Single.” They had announced their engagement last June, but their relationship came under fire in late March after ESPN reported that a rift had emerged in the Lakers’ locker room after a video surfaced showing Lakers rookie guard D'Angelo Russell record- ing a private conversation be- tween himself and Young, who did not appear to realize
he was being taped.
The video showed Russell
filming Young while asking questions about Young being with other women.
IGGY AZALEA AND NICK YOUNG
After the video surfaced, team sources told ESPN that some teammates' trust in Russell was eroding.
Orlando Magic guard
Brandon Jennings
tweeted this afternoon, “D’Angelo Russell goes down as the worst teammate in sports history!!!! I’m cool.” Jennings later tweeted of Russell, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 draft, "Kid got game though."
The Golden State War- riors, not the champion Cleveland Cavaliers, head into an intriguing offseason as the favorites to win the 2017 NBA title in Las Vegas.
The Cavaliers pulled off one of the best comebacks in NBA history, rallying from a 3-1 series deficit in the NBA
Finals to dethrone the War- riors with a Game 7 victory. But the Westgate SuperBook has the Golden State as the favorite, at 7-4, to win the 2017 NBA Championship. The Cavs are next at 5-2, fol- lowed by the San Antonio Spurs at 6-1 and Oklahoma City Thunder at 8-1.
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