Which of these Smiths played 10 seasons in the NBA?
In an outdoor free-throw shooting contest between media personalities, ESPN hot take specialist Stephen A. Smith defeated former NBA point guard Kenny Smith, a member of TNT's “Inside the NBA” cast. Ta.
Stephen A. was successful 3 out of 5 times, while Kenny was only successful 1 out of 5 (actually 1 out of 6). The trash talk escalated and the confusion took over, leading to an awkward ending.
With Shaquille O'Neal on the mic, Stephen A. actually clinched the victory after four rounds, but Kenny wanted a fifth shot.
He succeeded, claiming he was “warmed up'' and hit his sixth shot, but it didn't count and was a miss anyway.
Stephen A. was prepared to continue shooting unless victory was declared.
Hey, the shooter shoots.
The contest was part of the pregame show for the NBA Cup semifinals. The mix of network personalities was an interesting one as “Inside the NBA” moves from TNT to ESPN next season as part of a media rights package.
TNT exposed Kenny Smith to the challenge of Stephen A., who was an 82.9 percent free throw shooter from 1987 to 1997.
But judging by his form, he had lost his touch over the past 27 years.
Stephen A., who briefly played college basketball at Winston-Salem University before injuring his knee, probably played more against Charles Barkley (73.7 percent in his career) and Shaq (52.7 percent in his career). Had we taken a big rout, we would have won.
The opposing team, confident that O'Neal would miss, devised a “hack-a-shack” strategy to get the ball back late in the game.
O'Neal expected the network's media guests to play the 4-on-4 game, a dominant style of 7-footers, but that came with the risk of injury.
If Stephen A. didn't have enough bragging rights at that point, he and O'Neal competed in a three-point contest filled with impromptu air balls.
The first person wins.
Sure enough, Shaq failed four times, but then both men started firing in embarrassment.
After Kenny Smith donated $10,000 to charity just by hitting the rim, Stephen A. knocked down a 3 first.
Return to providing analysis on TV for all involved and taking photos as needed.
