Kevin Love and J.R. Smith are no longer teammates on the Cleveland Cavaliers, but that didn’t keep Love from celebrating his old friend for his major personal accomplishment.
Smith made news last year when he enrolled at North Carolina A&T State University. Not only did he become a student, but he also became a student-athlete. He quickly joined the golf team at the school. Now, Smith has earned a prestigious award at the school, being named its Academic Athlete of the Year.
He finished the school year with a 4.0 grade point average. Love was clearly very excited for his friend when he took to Instagram to post about Smith’s accomplishment.
It’s pretty sweet to see Love promote Smith’s accomplishment, though it is not all that surprising. The two spent many seasons together on the Cavs and enjoyed many deep playoff runs during the second LeBron James era.
Of course, the two also won a title together with the Cavs in 2016. Clearly, the brotherhood that Love and Smith formed during those years is still alive and well.
Though Smith’s NBA career is over, Love’s enjoyed a major resurgence in the 2021-22 season. After several seasons of struggling through a rebuild, both Love and the Cavs bounced back in their recent season.
Love averaged 13.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He helped lead the Cavs to the play-in tournament. Sadly, the team could not get it done in the tournament and ended up getting bounced. Still, it marked an incredible leap forward for the young and talented team.
With one more year on his current contract, Love is nearly guaranteed to remain on the Cavs for at least one more season. After that, his storied run with the franchise may come to an end.
