J.R. Smith, an integral part of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2016 championship team, is facing serious trouble off the court. This personal update comes just months after he graduated with a degree in Liberal Studies from North Carolina A&T State University. That said, what has happened to Smith?

Smith, whose first name is Earl, was arrested by the Royse City Police Department on Tuesday. The former NBA player has been booked on a charge of assault causing bodily injury family violence.

He remains in the Hunt County Detention Center, and the latest jail records show that no bond has been set.

The exact circumstances surrounding the incident have not been publicly detailed in the initial reports, which also do not disclose the identity of the victim. Additionally, no other charges have been reported in connection with the arrest.

Update via TMZ: “Cops say J.R. Smith was arrested Monday after an automatic license plate reader flagged the vehicle he was driving and alerted officers to an active warrant. Smith was pulled over and taken into custody on the family violence assault warrant before being booked into the Hunt County Detention Center. His brother was with him and took possession of the vehicle.”

The legal development comes a few months after Smith reached an important milestone away from basketball. 16 NBA seasons and two championships later, Smith returned to college to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Applied Cultural Thought. He even represented the Aggies golf team in a few tournaments.

Smith was named the North Carolina A&T Academic Athlete of the Year for 2021-2022 with a 4.0 GPA. He graduated from North Carolina A&T State University in May 2026 with the aim of becoming a more “well-rounded” person alongside being an athlete.

“I think being an athlete is just [an] attribute that you have,” Smith said. “You’re still a person at the end of the day and you can get better in all areas and facets.”

Smith capped a unique career trajectory alongside popular NBA players such as Ray Allen, Stephen Curry, Shaquille O’Neal, and Michael Jordan, all of whom returned to college much later in their lives to complete their degrees.

In fact, Smith once admitted that Allen had convinced him to challenge himself by studying again during a golf trip in the Dominican Republic.

It was a particularly surprising decision for a player who won championships with the Cavaliers in 2016 and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, and who was named Sixth Man of the Year with the New York Knicks in 2013. According to Spotrac, Smith also earned more than $90 million in just paychecks in the NBA.