AVONDALE, La. - JR Smith’s latest chapter opened on a golf course, not a basketball floor.
Two months after graduating from North Carolina A&T State University, the two-time NBA champion teed off Tuesday morning at TPC Louisiana in his first Advocates Professional Golf Association Tour event, entering the APGA Michael Eaves Classic & Celebrity Pro-Am as an amateur. Because he is competing as an amateur, Smith is not eligible for any share of the $25,000 purse.
The 36-hole event runs Tuesday and Wednesday and brings together 46 competitors, with the winner set to take home $8,000. Smith began play alongside Michael Bradham Sr. and Everett Whiten Jr.
His arrival adds another layer to a field packed with some of the APGA Tour’s biggest names. Willie Mack III, the tour’s all-time active wins leader with 19 victories, is among the favorites, along with two-time APGA Tour Player of the Year Chase Johnson and 11-time tour winner Marcus Byrd.
Hosted by ESPN “SportsCenter” anchor Michael Eaves, the tournament spotlights many of the nation’s top Black professional golfers while also fitting into the APGA’s broader mission of expanding access to the sport.
Smith’s path to this point has been anything but ordinary. He spent 16 seasons in the NBA, winning titles with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020 before turning his attention fully to golf.
That move started in 2021, when he enrolled at North Carolina A&T, walked on to the Aggies’ men’s golf team and embraced college life after going straight from St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, New Jersey, to the 2004 NBA draft without playing college basketball.
At A&T, Smith made a strong impression beyond the fairway. He earned the school’s Academic Athlete of the Year honor after posting a 4.0 grade-point average in his first semester, and his five-year journey at the university became the subject of the documentary series “Redefined: JR Smith.”
This spring, Smith completed that mission by earning a Bachelor of Arts in liberal studies. It was a goal he has often described as deeply personal after overcoming childhood struggles with ADHD and dyslexia.
Former Aggies golf coach Richard Watkins said earning a degree, not golf, was always Smith’s true objective at North Carolina A&T.
Smith’s debut also lands at a time when the APGA Tour continues to grow. Founded in 2010, the nonprofit circuit was created to provide competitive opportunities for Black golfers and other historically underrepresented players, and it serves as a professional bridge for talent coming out of HBCU golf programs.
In 2026, the APGA is hosting 12 tournaments and awarding more than $1 million in prize money and bonuses. Alumni including Marcus Byrd, Chase Johnson, Luis Gagne, Gregory Odom Jr. and Kieron van Wyk have moved on to PGA Tour Americas competition, underscoring the tour’s development pipeline.
For Smith, though, this week is about another step in a second act that keeps surprising people: NBA champion, HBCU student-athlete, and now amateur golfer competing against some of the best Black players in the country.
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