Back in the day, Kenny Smith made an impact in the NBA, having won two NBA championships with the Houston Rockets. Nowadays, the Jet continues to contribute to the game as an analyst. Although Smith does have plenty of experience to share his opinions about the NBA, his takes aren't always accepted by the majority. Here is Kenny Smith's 10 wildest NBA takes, ranked.
10. Anthony Davis would elevate any team to a playoff contender
Around this time, Anthony Davis' injury was a huge setback for the Los Angeles Lakers. But while Davis was an important piece for the Lakers, Smith boldly emphasized on the importance of Davis.
He highlighted that Davis' presence is big enough to elevate any bottom-feeding team into a playoff contender as the Lakers would have been higher up in the standings. Although Davis is a huge piece, it was a bit of an exaggeration on the part of Smith.
9. Lecturing Draymond Green
"At 22, 23, 24 years old, you can keep apologizing. But at this stage of his career, and a champion… He knows where [the line] is. He keeps crossing it."@TheJetOnTNT on Draymond Green https://t.co/a9iAEdgve7 pic.twitter.com/ZjPR3iSpox
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) November 29, 2023
Draymond Green is a talented all-around player who has been a critical piece to the Golden State Warriors' championship run. But while Green's all-around play and defensive tenacity have been lauded, his antics and shenanigans have been uncalled for. Unhappy with Green's behavior, Smith expressed his thoughts on the Warriors forward's controversial behavior.
8. Contradicting take on Brunson's Knicks
"Brunson has been the best basketball player in the Eastern Conference. By far."
–– Kenny Smith at halftime pic.twitter.com/NwVHqFTBIe
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) April 12, 2024
While the take itself on Jalen Brunson being the best player in the Eastern Conference is already up for debate, Smith actually contradicted himself. Prior to that, he considered Brunson as the second-best player on the Knicks roster. Knicks fans didn't forget and certainly placed the former NBA veteran on the hot seat.
7. Criticizing NBA player salaries
Kenny Smith's critique on player earnings in the modern NBA: "I see players today who have holes in their game but make $20 million"https://t.co/NUBP4GaexO
— Ricky G (@jrichardgoodman) April 16, 2024
With more and more NBA players these days earning around $20 million deals, two-time NBA champion Smith wasn't ecstatic about it. He explained that there are players with several flaws that managed to get these lucrative contracts.
However, even players with max deals also have holes in their game. Furthermore, with inflation and talented agents, it's only natural that more NBA players are getting richer deals.
6. Victor Wembanyama will be MVP in four years
“In year four, he’ll be the MVP of the league.”
Kenny Smith has VERY high expectations for Victor Wembanyama in the NBA 😳
(via @NBATV)pic.twitter.com/ei1dAptYpx
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 11, 2023
Prior to the 2023-2024 season, Victor Wembanyama carried heavy expectations. Fast forward to today, the Spurs rookie lived up to the hype by winning Rookie of the Year.
But even before seeing him play, Kenny Smith proclaimed that Wemby will be an NBA MVP in his fourth season. It was absolutely a bold statement, which remains to be seen. Nonetheless, Wemby will have his work cut out for him if he wants this to materialize.
5. Face-of-the-NBA take will be from the Western Conference
Kenny: [45 second sermon on the future of the NBA]
Chuck: pic.twitter.com/e4GqvPsWBV
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) May 22, 2024
In this segment, Smith explained how any of the two winners from the Western Conference will outshine Jayson Tatum in the Eastern Conference as the next face of the NBA. A lot of NBA fans will certainly argue about Smith's claims. However, it was Charles Barkley's response that summed it all up.




4. Stephen Curry couldn't shoot as deep as Damian Lillard
love you @TheJetOnTNT ….. but you trippin right now
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) August 19, 2020
Hyped after the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the 2020 NBA Playoffs, Smith proudly said that he didn't think Stephen Curry could shoot the three-ball as deep as Damian Lillard.
Curry naturally makes a living out of three-pointers like he possesses limitless range. As a result, it was certainly a head-scratching statement that triggered a response for the greatest shooter in the world.
3. Picking Anthony Edwards over Luka Doncic
Kenny Smith has SGA and Ant Man on 1st team All-NBA and Brunson and Luka on 2nd team pic.twitter.com/Oq8D5ZsxC6
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) April 12, 2024
There's no doubt that Anthony Edwards and Luka Doncic tore it up this season. However, Smith revealed to the public that he would select Edwards over Luka for the All-NBA First Team.
Although the statement opened room for debate, one may argue that Luka deserves the All-NBA First Team spot. Besides, Luka's Mavs defeated Edwards' Wolves in the Western Conference Finals.
2. Hakeem Olajuwon's Rockets would defeat Michael Jordan's three-peat Bulls
A lot of people wondered what if Michael Jordan didn't briefly retire in 1993. Had he not, staying in the NBA would have paved the way for a matchup between the Chicago Bulls and the Houston Rockets, a team that won in 1994 and 1995, during Jordan's absence.
But as a member of the Rockets' back-to-back championship teams, Smith boldly claimed that the Rockets would still prevail over Jordan's Bulls. The statement certainly didn't sit well with Jordan fans.
1. Disrespectful comments in the Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu three-point shootout
Kenny Smith wanted Sabrina Ionescu y
To shoot from the women’s 3-point line and Reggie Miller wasn’t having it pic.twitter.com/s64X1VOOxh— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) February 18, 2024
Having a three-point shootout battle between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu in the NBA All-Star Weekend was a groundbreaking event.
But while Ionescu gave the best shooter in the world a run for his money, Smith's comments didn't sit well among basketball fans in Twitter, now known as X. A lot of basketball fans felt that his remarks ultimately took away from Ionescu's moment.