- Kenny Smith
: "For the American football player see
Kenny Smith (American football) ."Infobox NBAretired
width=
caption=
position=Point guard
number=30, 31
birthdate=birth date and age|1965|3|8
debutyear=1987
finalyear=1997
draftyear=1987
draftround=1
draftpick=6
college=North Carolina
teams=
*Sacramento Kings (1987–1990)
*Atlanta Hawks (1990)
*Houston Rockets (1990–1996)
*Detroit Pistons (1996)
*Orlando Magic (1996–1997)
*Denver Nuggets (1997)
stat1label=Points
stat1value=9,397
stat2label=Assists
stat2value=4,073
stat3label=Rebounds
stat3value=1,454
letter=s
bbr=smithke01
highlights=
*2x NBA Champion (1994, 1995)
*1988 NBA All-Rookie Team
HOF=Kenneth (Kenny) 'The Jet' Smith, (born
March 8 1965 , inQueens ,New York ) is a retiredNational Basketball Association player and current TV basketball analyst. He attendedArchbishop Molloy High School in Queens, a school rich in basketball and scholastic tradition, and the home of such prep standouts asBrian Winters ,Robert Werdann , and New York City schoolboy legendKenny Anderson (also Smith's cousin). Smith graduated in1983 . While still in high school, he earned the nickname "Jet" after a local sportswriter saw the the cat-quick Smith in action in an in-season game against rivalChrist 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 1983McDonald's All-American Game in Atlanta. He moved on to play for coaching legendDean Smith at North Carolina and became a rare 4-year starter, over the course of his career playing alongside Carolina and futureNBA starsSam Perkins ,Michael Jordan andBrad Daugherty . When he graduated in1987 , Smith held the school record for most assists with 768 (since surpassed byEd 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. [ [http://www.usabasketball.com/history/mwc_1986.html 1986 USA Basketball] ]Professional Career
The
Sacramento Kings made him the 6th overall pick in the1987 NBA Draft , ahead of such notable point guards asKevin Johnson (taken with the next pick by theCleveland Cavaliers ), and fellow New YorkerMark Jackson , who wound up going 18th to theNew 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 inthree-point field goal percentage with .407. His greatest moment as a player came in Game 1 of the1995 NBA Finals against theOrlando Magic , when he hit 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 theSacramento Kings ,Atlanta Hawks ,Houston Rockets ,Detroit Pistons ,Orlando Magic and theDenver 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 partnerCharles Barkley . When a team is eliminated from the playoffs, Smith sends them "fishing " by showing a placard with team members on a fishing boat. Smith is also a color analyst forNew York Knicks broadcasts on MSG, hosts "Full Court Press " onSirius Satellite Radio , and in October 2007 became an NBA analyst forYahoo! Sports . Although he never was named anAll-Star , Smith did compete in both 1990 and 1991 in theSlam Dunk Contest as part of [NBA All Star Weekend] , finishing second in the contest toDominique Wilkins in 1990.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.Fact|date=January 2008
On
September 2 ,2006 Smith married British actress and Price is Right model Gwendolyn Osborne at their mountain-top estate inStevenson Ranch, California .Smith's first video game appearance was in "
NBA Inside Drive 2003 ", followed by appearances in "NBA Live 2005" and "2006" as anNBA All-Star Weekend announcer at theSlam Dunk Contest andThree-point Shootout . Smith also does commentary for some of theNBA 2K Games. [ [http://www.nba.com/videogames/nba2k8_overview.html NBA2k8 at NBA.com] ]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
