Emotional NBA star JR Smith and wife share sad news about their newborn daughter, ask fans to pray

The New Year did not started on the best note for NBA star JR Smith and his wife Jewel Harris as the couple shared some sad news about their newborn daughter. The professional basketball player revealed that his wife had given birth to their baby girl five months ahead of her due date.

Smith and his wife shared the news via a video on Uninterrupted – a multimedia platform – created by fellow Cavaliers star LeBron James."We've got very important news," the athlete says in the emotional video.

Fighting back tears, his wife then takes over and announces, "We decided to share with the world what's been going on with our family the past five days. We know a lot of you guys congratulated us on the expectancy of our little baby girl, but we had her five months early."

"She's 5-days-old today and her name is Dakota and she weighs one pound," the long-time girlfriend and now-wife of the Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard revealed in the video. "We know we're not the only family going through this, who has been through this, and who will ever go through it. That's why we decided to share what we're going through with you guys."

The parents-of-three concluded their announcement with a plea to the fans saying, "Please keep us in your prayers and we'll do the same for everyone else."

Smith and his wife had announced that they were expecting a baby. In the video message, the 31-year-old athlete had also assured fans that he was re-signing for the Cavaliers. "We are happy to be a part of the Cleveland family," he said before surprising fans with news of their third baby.

Smith and Harris tied the knot in August 2016 and are proud parents to daughters Demi and Peyton.