JR Smith gets real on being thrown into LeBron James vs. Carmelo Anthony rivalry

Since they were drafted two picks apart back in 2003, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James were constantly compared to one another throughout their careers. The perennial All-Stars had their fair share of clashes when they played for the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers, respectively, in the 2010s. They were rivals on the court, but James and Anthony have a close friendship outside of the game.

J.R. Smith is one of the few players to have the opportunity to play with both of them, and he broke down his perspective of the  superstars. Smith joined Anthony on his show, “7pm in Brooklyn” to talk about the trade that sent him from the Knicks to the Cavaliers in 2015. The media bombarded Smith with questions about the differences between each of them as players and leaders.

“The most a– s— about it was going to a new situation. Then, you know how, like, the media always tries to put one and one against each other. I can’t be his man(Anthony) and be his man(James),” said Smith about how the media treated him in Cleveland. “First of all, we were all cool. Now….it’s like you cut your left hand off to go save your right. I f– with both of them, and they’re both my man. Now I got to answer questions like, what kind of leader is Melo, what kind of leader is Bron. What’s the difference between the two. Everybody leads in their own different way.”

While the trade put Smith in a tough spot with the media, it paid off in the end. He and James won a title in 2016 with the Cavaliers against the Golden State Warriors. They joined forces again and won another with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.

Smith got the best of both worlds, playing with Anthony during the “Knickstape” season in 2012-13 and winning championships with James. However, to him, both players are equally great as teammates and as friends.