Stephen A. Smith Attempts to Turn Kenny Smith Against Shaquille O’Neal and TNT Fellas Over 3-Point Contest

Things were heating up even before Inside the NBA made the big move to ESPN. Yep, Stephen A. Smith has already taken aim at Kenny Smith. It all started with a casual challenge of Stephen A. having a free-throw contest against any Inside the NBA crew member. While most might have brushed it off, Kenny took it as an opportunity to coach Shaquille O’Neal to out-shoot the fiery analyst.

This, however, did not sit well with the 57-year-old ESPN analyst. “You know, I’ve been thinking about something regarding my man @TheJetOnTNT — swearing he’s going to train @SHAQ to outshoot me on FT’s: WTH happened to “Queens In The Building?” Where is your loyalty, Bro,” Stephen A. Smith wrote on X.

The ESPN analyst further stated he’ll have a talk with Kenny about this too, when he sees the former Houston Rockets star this Saturday. For those unaware, both Stephen A. and Kenny Smith grew up in Queens. Thus, the “Queens In The Building” reference.

The entire conversation started with Ernie Johnson, on a recent episode of Inside the NBA, stating that Stephen A. will join the Inside the NBA cast for one of their segments this Saturday. And thus began the discussion of who will face the ESPN analyst in a free throw contest. “I’m a coach… I would get Shaq to shoot better free throws than [Smith],” Kenny replied.

The former Houston Rockets star even stated he’s “too good” to compete with Stephen A. The statement does not seem to be an oversell considering the 2x NBA champ made it to the NBA’s top ten three-point percentage three times in his career and twice in the top ten free throw percentage. Stephen A Smith, however, could not care less about the experience these NBA legends on Inside the NBA carry. But all in good humor.

“I’ll give @TheJetOnTNT a chance in a FT contest…. I’m beating Chuck…” Stephen A. had posted on X, in response to the discussion on Inside the NBA. As for Shaquille O’Neal, he stated the 4x NBA champ does not even stand a chance in free throw shooting. With this to-and-fro banter already in place, Smith’s appearance on the TNT show this Saturday surely seems exciting.

Rumors of Stephen A Smith moving to Inside the NBA next season with Shaquille O’Neal and Co?

As the news of TNT’s iconic Inside the NBA show moving to ESPN next season sent shockwaves through the basketball world, one question must’ve crossed many minds—will Stephen A. Smith be joining the crew? Well, it seems the fans will have to wait a little longer for that crossover. Him with Shaquille O’Neal, a good idea?

ESPN president Burke Magnus has officially dashed those hopes. He confirmed the network has no intentions of adding Smith to the show. “And that’s because, frankly, the construct of the deal really doesn’t — that’s not how it was conceived. What is conceived is that Turner… are going to continue to do what they’ve always done,” Magnus said as per an article by Daily Mail.

Magnus further stated ESPN has no intentions of changing Inside the NBA or interjecting new talent into it. Now, although Stephen A Smith joining the cast is not on the cards, the chances are fans might see more of these guest appearances and friendly challenges once the show moves to ESPN.