Yesterday (April 25), LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers showed love to his former teammate J.R. Smith after Smith won the title of North Carolina A&T State University’s Academic Athlete of the Year.

“YESSIR @TheRealJRSmith!! Proud of you Kid!!! Love bro,” the guard tweeted.

Smith spent 16 seasons in the NBA and recently played with the Lakers during the 2019-20 season.

Smith enrolled at North Carolina A&T in August hoping to join the golf team. He ended his first semester at the school with a 4.0 GPA.

In 2004, he committed to the University of North Carolina but instead opted to go straight to the NBA after high school.

In addition to being a star pupil, the basketball star reportedly signed a deal with Lululemon to become a brand ambassador on April 18. This report comes from Nick DePaula of ESPN who says that Smith will help the company promote its golf apparel.

James has been a longtime supporter of Smith. Last year in October, as Smith was seen teeing it up for his first college golf tournament, James was there to root him on again.

“HOW AMAZING IS THIS MAN!!! DAMN IM BEYOND PROUD OF MY BROTHER!” James stated.

Others seem to share James’ sentiments in giving praise to Smith for choosing to enroll in college and take academics seriously following a successful career in basketball.

One Twitter user said, “This is a great story! Retired NBA star J.R. Smith goes back to college at #NCAT, joins the golf team – and earns academic honors.”

Smith also used social media to let supporters know that he was grateful.

He tweeted, “If I’m being honest at all, I was [terrified] to go back to school …. Literally, these assignments still make my heads sweat. Overcoming these fears of being vulnerable and open about my disability has given me real power! Power no one will ever take from me!”

Smith suffers from Attention-Deficit Disorder.