Kenny "The Jet" Smith has been with TNT for over 20 years and forms one quarter of basketball's most popular studio show, Inside The NBA, along with Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal and Ernie Johnson. But the tides of change are coming for the fan favorite with TNT on the verge of losing NBA rights starting with the 2025-26 season. The future is still murky for both TNT and Inside The NBA, but it's clear things will change in some way after this season.
Smith spoke to Sports Illustrated on behalf of FanDuel about a new promotion available for fans in the lead-up to tip-off for the 2024-25 season. Additionally, Smith reflected on his many years on Inside The NBA, what might be next if TNT does lose NBA rights, and his favorite memories from his time on the show.
Sports Illustrated: Can you walk us through what this summer was like for you in regards to the news surrounding Warner Bros. Discovery possibly losing NBA rights?
Kenny Smith: Firstly, you’re wrapping your head around what is actually going to happen. No one had any kind of understanding what was going to happen. We were in a negotiation. All of us had long-term deals regardless of if the NBA was going to continue with Warner Bros. We all had long-term deals. So we understood there was a possibility it might not happen.
For me individually, I feel kind of like LeBron during his free agent years where everyone is courting him. We get courted by other networks because of the possibilities that might happen.
I look at our show as Seinfeld. It’s the four of us, together, that have made really great television that people watch and not just for basketball. We’ve individually created monster possibilities for each other. This is just, right now, our last dance, so to speak. Our last year there at TNT. At least right now, with the way it looks and the way it stands unless something drastically changes legally. We’re just going to enjoy that and have a lot of fun, but knowing that there are a lot of people that want to take us to the dance afterwards. I’m excited about that, about the possibilities that the future holds. Even if that’s with a continuation of some type of hybrid of what we do on TNT now.
A lot of possibilities. The dust hasn’t cleared yet so I haven’t personally made any decisions, and won’t until that dust clears and we figure it out.
SI: It sounds like you're approaching this with the mindset that change isn't necessarily bad.
KS: I’ve been on different teams before. I got traded from Sacramento to Houston and won championships. I was still in the NBA. I’m not going to always look at change as bad, because I wouldn’t have won two championships if I didn’t get traded.
SI: You’ve been at TNT for over 20 years now.
KS: I started so young, in my 30s, I’ve been here a lot of years. We have a great crew. Everyone on our staff, from the person who does the statistics to makeup to production to producers, everyone is coveted by everyone. Not only by Warner Bros. Discovery, but other networks. I don’t think any of us are worried about job security. We’re all interested to see if it’s going to be all of us, if it’s going to be individual.
At some point, I’m going to go ‘I’m taking my talents to…’ Or ‘I’m going to stay at…’ I’m going to do the LeBron James. I’m going to come on ESPN and do the LeBron James. I’ll go to a school and have a bunch of kids behind me. Gonna do the whole thing.
SI: What's your favorite memory from your years spent on Inside The NBA?
KS: That’s kind of like asking what’s your favorite moment with your kid. It’s impossible to capsulize what’s happened over two decades.
For me, every day was the best day. Which is really difficult to say. Every day, something different would happen, from me pushing Shaq into a Christmas tree to Charles kissing a donkey to me trying to jump over a car and emulate what Kobe Bryant had done and then I get hit by the car. All these different, crazy moments. But then the basketball moments, too. Being there when LeBron James goes for 20 straight points in Detroit in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals and being there live in that moment. Watching the Celtics win their first championship last year with the new group, with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown anchoring it. There’s just been so many moments from a basketball standpoint, historically, and then also being there for fun.
I like to say we’ve created an iconic show that will stand the test of time. Every night I watch someone else’s show and I’m like, ‘Man, they’re doing something we started.’ Or they’re saying that because we started that. It’s just a blessing. I don’t take it for granted.
SI: Why should fans be excited about the new FanDuel promotion for the start of the season where fans can get a few free months of NBA League Pass?
KS: Firstly, the excitement of the NBA is coming around. How does FanDuel get everyone involved? With any $5 bet you get three months free of NBA League Pass. You get to watch the NBA for free for three months. Right there I think that’s worth $5 just in general, forget a $5 bet. And that’s for everyone. For new customers they get $300 in bonus bets also. You get an opportunity to play around and see how it is and always do it responsibility, but have a great time at the start of the year. You get $5 bets, get your three months of free League Pass. That’s worth it to me.
SI: Why do you enjoy working with FanDuel?
KS: For me the climate has changed dramatically over the last decade on sports betting and how to do it and how to do it responsibly. I’ve always been part of office pools and all kinds of things of that nature. I create my own office pool right here when I’m on FanDuel. That’s why it’s a lot of fun being part of it.
SI: Was there any sort of adjustment for you on-screen when talking about betting during sports broadcasts became normalized after so many years of it being a taboo subject for live television?
KS: It hasn’t really changed for me. I never give advice on who you should bet on. My question is, they always ask me who do you think is going to win. Typically, I never have to talk about the spread or the over-under or things of that nature. I’m going to tell you who’s going to win. Period. Forget about the rest. This is the reason why I think they’re going to win, these are the reasons why they shouldn’t win, these are the players who are really doing great, this guy is on a hot streak, and then you can go in and tailor-make it. For me my role really hasn’t changed. I don’t really say anything differently.
SI: What's your favorite bet you've ever won?
KS: It’s very documented, but it wasn’t an actual money bet. When Yao Ming was a rookie, I bet Charles Barkley that he would score over 20 points because Charles hadn’t seen Yao Ming play. He was struggling. Charles said, ‘I would kiss your ass if he scored more than 20.’ So I bought him a donkey, which was my ass, and he had to kiss the donkey on national television. Because Yao Ming, the very next night, had 20 points. So that’s my favorite bet of all time: when Charles kissed the donkey.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kenny Smith Q&A: On FanDuel & How He's Handling the 'Last Dance' of 'Inside The NBA' .