Just Got Curious While Rewatching Old NBA Games
So I was rewatching Cavs vs Warriors finals highlights late last night when that crazy J.R. play came up. You know the one. And I suddenly thought – wait, when exactly did his car accident happen? Like, the real date and time? Figured it’d be easy to find. Boy, was I wrong.
The Frustrating Search Begins
First I searches Google with “J.R. Smith car accident date”. Tons of articles talked about the crash. Said stuff like “June 2019” or “summer before joining Lakers”. Not good enough! I want the exact day and hour!
Scrolled through Reddit next. Found a Cavs sub thread where people argued whether it affected his finals performance. Some dude claimed “Thursday afternoon”, another said “early morning”. Zero proof. Just guesses.
Digging Into Ugly Twitter & Instagram Archives
Remembered J.R. tweeted after the wreck. Went through his Twitter like an archaeologist. July 2019? August? Nothing. Instagram stories are gone forever – big dead end.
Checked TMZ archives (they love celeb crashes). Found one sentence: “Smith totaled his Maybach SUV in June”. Still vague! Starting to feel dumb.
That One Random Lakers Forum Saves Me
Almost gave up until I found this dusty Lakers fan forum from 2019. Some user posted police report screenshots (blurred personal info). My hands actually shook clicking it.
There it was in ugly cop-speak:
- Date: June 9, 2019
- Time: 1:14 AM
- Location: Route 6 near Port Jefferson
- Cause: Fell asleep driving
Finally! Concrete evidence! Celebrated with cold pizza.
Why This Stupid Detail Matters
My annoying editor cousin used to say “details build trust”. He was right. Seeing “June 2019” everywhere felt lazy. Finding that 1:14 AM stamp? Satisfying as hell. It changes how you picture the accident – pitch dark road, dead tired, no other cars involved.
Showed my findings to buddy who follows NBA religiously. Even he shrugged: “Who cares about exact time?” Felt like I uncovered some secret basketball artifact.
Moral Of My Useless Adventure
Sometimes obsession pays off. That forum post was buried under 5 years of LeBron debates and trade rumors. Almost missed it. Goes to show:
Keep digging when you hit dead ends.
Even if everyone thinks you’re wasting time. Real answers hide in forgotten corners of the internet.
Now if you’ll excuse me, gotta email my cousin “I TOLD YOU SO” with the report screenshot. Been waiting years to win an argument against that guy.
