JR: James still hasn’t forgiven me, but not calling a timeout doesn’t affect you being the GOAT.

6686 Sports October 25th Former NBA star JR Smith recently revealed his famous failure to call a timeout in the first game of the 2018 NBA Finals. At the time, he was playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, playing alongside LeBron James against the Golden State Warriors.

While participating in the "It Is What It Is" podcast, Smith explained to rappers Cam'ron and Mays that he didn't request a timeout at the end of regulation because he expected the dugout to call a timeout. His mistake led to a viral reaction from LeBron James; James scored 51 points in a game the Cavaliers ultimately lost in overtime.

"For me, and for a lot of players who have been in similar situations, if you look back to earlier in the season, any time we were in situations like this where we had offensive rebounds, especially at the free throw line with little time left, we definitely had a timeout plan, and usually we just called a timeout," Smith said. "So, to me, I didn't hear any whistles... so I was trying to pass the ball to our best playmaker in the situation, which is LeBron, and that's what happened."

After Smith explained, all three of them laughed, especially considering Camron and Mays had made similar mistakes in high school basketball. Smith joked that James may have overreacted in that situation because they had already won an NBA championship in Cleveland back in 2016.

"I'm like, 'LeBron, you're still the GOAT. Man, we've won. You're fine.'" Smith said.

While Smith himself has long put that moment behind him, he added that he's sure James still holds on to the memory.

"I knew the guy was still mad, I knew that, I knew he was still mad at me," Smith said.