From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kenneth (Kenny) "The Jet" Smith (born March 8,
1965, in Rochester, New York) is a retired National Basketball
Association player and current TV basketball analyst, primarily
for Inside the
NBA on TNT. He attended
Archbishop Molloy High
School in Queens, a school rich in basketball and scholastic
tradition, and the home of such prep standouts as Brian Winters, Robert Werdann,
and New York City schoolboy legend Kenny Anderson (also Smith's cousin).
Smith graduated in 1983. While still in high school, he earned the
nickname "Jet" after a local sportswriter saw the cat-quick Smith
in action during an in-season game against rival Christ the King
High School and reported on it the next day in the paper. The
newsman watched in awe as Smith repeatedly shredded the defense's
tough press, only to "jet" down the court for several easy lay-ups,
earning the moniker in the process. That year, Smith was also named
a High School All-American and was selected to play in the 1983 McDonald's All-American
Game in Atlanta. He moved on to play for coaching legend Dean Smith at North
Carolina and became a rare 4-year starter, over the course of
his career playing alongside Carolina and future NBA stars Sam Perkins, Michael Jordan
and Brad Daugherty. When he
graduated in 1987, Smith held the school record for most assists
with 768 (since surpassed by Ed
Cota), including 86 assists in NCAA Tournament play, was a
1st-Team All-American and was named Basketball Times Player of the
Year.
International career
While at Carolina, Smith also played for the US national
team in the 1986 FIBA World
Championship, winning the gold medal.[1]
Professional
career
The Sacramento Kings made him the 6th
overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft, ahead of such notable
point guards as Kevin Johnson (taken with the next pick
by the Cleveland Cavaliers), and fellow
New Yorker Mark
Jackson, who wound up going 18th to the New York Knicks
and winning that year's Rookie of the Year award. Smith had a good
season for the Kings and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First
Team, averaging 13.8 points and 7.1 assists per game while playing
with the Kings. He would go on to win the 1994 and 1995 NBA championships with
the Houston Rockets, whom he played for after being traded in 1990.
He is also the Rockets' all-time leader in three-point field goal
percentage with .407. One of his greatest moments as a player came
in Game 1 of the 1995 NBA Finals against the Orlando Magic, when
he hit a Finals record 7 three-pointers,[2]
including a game-tying three-pointer as time expired to send the
game into overtime. The Rockets would eventually win the game and
sweep the series. Smith played 10 seasons in the NBA. During his
career, Smith played for the Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Houston
Rockets, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic and
the Denver
Nuggets.
In 1998, Smith became an NBA studio analyst for the TNT show, Inside the NBA. He provides
analysis and acts as a straight man for studio partner Charles
Barkley. When a team is eliminated from the playoffs, Smith
sends them "fishing" by
showing a placard with team members on a fishing boat. From
2005–2008 Smith was also a color analyst for New York Knicks
broadcasts on MSG,
and he also has hosted Full Court
Press on Sirius Satellite Radio. In
October 2007, he became an NBA analyst for Yahoo! Sports. Although he never was
named an All-Star, Smith did compete in both 1990
and 1991 in the Slam Dunk Contest
as part of NBA All-Star Weekend, finishing
second in the contest to Dominique Wilkins in 1990. He now
also does occasional studio work for NBA TV.
Smith also created the Kenny Smith North Carolina Boys and Girls
Basketball Camp. The camp teaches young boys and girls about the
rules and the game of basketball.
Smith's first video game appearance was in NBA Inside Drive
2003, followed by appearances in NBA Live
2005 and 2006 as an NBA All-Star Weekend
announcer at the Slam Dunk Contest
and Three-point Shootout. Smith also does
commentary for some of the NBA
2K Games.[3]Smith
also appears in NBA 09 in story 3 of the Life mode in which
he plays one on one against your created player. He is also an
announcer in the game.
Kenny is also the first commissioner of the Premier Basketball
League.[4][5]
Family
On September 2, 2006, Smith married British actress and Price is Right model
Gwendolyn
Osborne at their mountain-top estate in Stevenson Ranch,
California.
The couple had their first child in March 2008. Smith also has
two children from a previous marriage.
References
External
links
United
States
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