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J.R. Smith sprayed $23,000 worth of champagne after the Cavs won

Dan Devine
Senior NBA writer
J.R. Smith acknowledges the crowd during the Cavaliers' 2016 NBA Championship victory parade and rally. (Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)
J.R. Smith acknowledges the crowd during the Cavaliers’ 2016 NBA Championship victory parade and rally. (Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)

We all knew that J.R. Smith had a really good time after the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors to win the 2016 NBA championship back in June; we just didn’t know specifically, and from a financial perspective, how good a time. Now, thanks to the intrepid reporting of Sports Illustrated ace Lee Jenkins, we can put a figure to all that shirtless post-title fun.

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From Jenkins’ new cover story on LeBron James, in which the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player revealed that his motivation is chasing “the ghost” of Michael Jordan in a quest to become the greatest basketball player of all time:

On June 20, around 3 a.m. at the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas, the Cavaliers lost track of [LeBron]. While they toasted their title poolside at XS Nightclub—where Smith sprayed $23,000 worth of champagne, according to credible estimates—James slipped out the door. He wound up at Allegro, an Italian restaurant on the casino floor, sitting silently over a Margherita pizza.

I don’t know, man. That sounds like a lot of money. I’m not sure I beli—

OK, you know what? My bad. Never doubt Lee Jenkins’ reporting, and never doubt J.R. Smith’s capacity to get his Ric Flair on.

According to Consumer Reports, you could get a brand new Kia Optima for the estimated cost of J.R.’s accumulated spray-downs. Then again, the Cavs don’t really have to worry about how much Kias cost; they’ve got the hook-up.

Upon further review, perhaps President Barack Obama would like to institute another stipulation on Swish’s arrival at the White House. Sure, having a shirt on matters — especially if it’s either the J.R. tattoo T-shirt or the J.R. For President T-shirt (though the latter might be too on the nose) — but we can’t have Moet splashing around on the carpets in the East Room, after all.

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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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