The Inside the NBA crew on TNT is well known for their very public jabs at each other’s playing careers. Yet another instance of this came during on Saturday night during All-Star Weekend, with Charles Barkley ripping Kenny Smith for his Slam Dunk Contest participation throughout his playing career.
Some may not know that Smith participated in three Dunk Contests over the course of his ten-year NBA career in 1990,1991, and 1993.
He never won any of the three contests he participated in, with his closest performance coming in a runner-up loss to Dominique Wilkins in 1990.
Well, Smith claimed on the TNT Tip-Off broadcast for the event that he believes he was “robbed” in that contest, saying he should have beaten Wilkins.
“I got robbed by Dominique (Wilkins),” said Smith. “Dude, I lose by 0.5.”
Barkley immediately pushed back against this claim, saying he should have never been in the dunk contest in the first place.
“Please stop it,” said Barkley. “We’re still trynna figure out why you were in the Slam Dunk Contest.”
Smith then snapped back at him by referencing the money he received for participating.
“My bank account says that I should have been in it.”
Kenny: "I got robbed by Dominique."
Chuck: "Please stop it! We're still trynna figure out why you were in the Slam Dunk Contest." 💀
The Fellas are already getting started at #StateFarmSaturday 🤣 pic.twitter.com/OWjp8lwkWM
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 17, 2024
Say what you will about Smith’s playing career compared to his fellow cast members. But there is a reason Smith’s nickname is “The Jet”, as he certainly had some pretty spectacular highlights over the years in the dunk contest.
At least Smith always has one built-in comeback to Barkley in his back pocket. He and Shaquille O’Neal have an NBA championship ring, while Barkley remained ringless throughout his career, a fact that has been brought up countless times on Inside The NBAÂ over the years.
