Basketball bad boy J.R. Smith proved he doesn’t take the high road off the court either — when he choked a teenager who teased him on a Chelsea street, the young fan told cops.

The hotheaded NBA star was furious with 19-year-old Justin Brown for cracking a joke on Friday about his midseason trade last year from the Knicks to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“That’s why you got kicked out of New York!” Brown snapped at Smith when he refused to pose for a picture outside Artichoke Basille’s Pizza near the corner of West 17th and Tenth Avenue around 4 a.m. Nov. 13, police sources said.

Smith, 30 — who is 6-foot-6, 225 pounds — turned around and allegedly charged at Brown, wrapping his big mitts around the kid’s neck and slamming him against a wall, police sources said.

Smith was restrained by another person at the pizza shop who separated the two.

Smith, who was in New York to play his old team that night, was not arrested, even though police eventually did arrive on scene.

Brown did not make a criminal complaint until Monday, three days after the scuffle with the basketball star, when he walked into the 10th Precinct station house to tell cops what allegedly happened.

Smith’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, denied his client did anything wrong.

“The allegation is completely false; he didn’t choke him,” Spiro said. “There is no arrest warrant issued for Smith. I don’t expect him to be arrested.”

Smith even took to Twitter to proclaim his innocence, saying, “Don’t believe everything you read!”

In a statement released Friday, Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin said the organization is aware of the accusations against Smith and said he was still expected to play in Saturday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks.

“We have spoken to J.R. about it,” Griffin said.

Smith wore out his welcome with the Knicks and was sent packing to Cleveland after three seasons. This isn’t the first time Smith has found himself in trouble with the law.

He was arrested in 2012 when cops in Miami issued a warrant after he failed to show up to court on a traffic summons.

Smith also had his license suspended after a reckless-driving accident that killed a close friend.

He has had his license suspended numerous other times.