Baby Kota is finally home.
In January, Cleveland Cavaliers star J.R. Smith’s wife Jewel Harris gave birth at Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights, Ohio to their daughter Dakota, five months early at 21 gestational weeks. The baby weighed one pound — at least five times less than the normal birth weight, making her a micro preemie —and was rushed to the NICU.
Experts did not believe the baby would survive. But Kota was released from the hospital Tuesday, weighing a healthy 7 pounds and 5 ounces.
“We Walked In Together We Walked Out Together!!” Smith wrote on Instagram, alongside a photo collage of him and his wife leaving with their baby in a stroller. “Thank you so much to our extended family at the #NICU You all are truly the WORLDS GREATEST! @jewey808 back to #TeamNoSleep #KotasHome.”
On Instagram, the NBA player has chronicled Dakota’s progress in the NICU.
“Today is one of the greatest days of my life. Today I get to hold my youngest for the first time! GOD is GREAT! #DakotaStrong,” he wrote in February.
These are indeed fruitful times for Smith. He, LeBron James and the rest of the Cavs are just one win away from their second consecutive NBA championship series. Smith was one of the key figures on last year’s team that helped the Cavs win an NBA title for the first time in team history — and the first championship for any major Cleveland sports franchise in over 50 years.
Moreover, Smith hit back-to-back 3-point shots early in the second half of the 2016 Finals against the Golden State Warriors that helped the Cavs erase a large deficit. That helped fuel the Cavs for the rest of the game as they became the first team to ever come back from a 3-games-to-1 hole and win the title.
The past two years also represent a complete career and life transformation for Smith, who was once labeled a headcase and waste of talent during his turbulent years with the New York Knicks before being traded to Cleveland.
See pictures of the beautiful baby and family below.
