“I Count Rings!”: Kenny Smith Defends Himself from Charles Barkley’s Criticism About 1995 Finals Performance

The Inside the NBA crew’s shenanigans make them must-watch television as they tend to one-up each other’s wild antics in every episode. Of late, the quartet has been playing Streaks, an online game from Bleacher Report, where participants have 20 seconds to answer 10 multiple-choice questions. However, one wrong answer immediately ends the game.

Over the past week, Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley have tried their hands at it during the show, with Ernie Johnson playing the quizmaster. The Hall of Fame duo was quizzed about their careers and hilariously, they both failed at the first hurdle. On Tuesday, it was Kenny Smith‘s turn to face questions about his career from Johnson. All he had to do was answer one correctly to take the lead on the Inside The NBA crew’s Streaks leaderboard.

Barkley predicted that Smith wouldn’t get more than two answers correct, but the latter confidently claimed that he’d answer at least five. But Johnson ended up dazing the former Houston Rockets guard with the first question. EJ asked Smith how many three-pointers he made during the 1995 NBA Finals series against Shaquille O’Neal and the Orlando Magic, which ended in a sweep for Houston. The retired guard was left befuddled. He correctly remembered hitting seven three-pointers in a narrow 120-118 win in Game 1, but couldn’t recall how many he made through Games 2 to 4.

Smith guessed that he had hit nine total threes, but he was incorrect. His wrong answer landed him with his fellow panelists to remain scoreless on the leaderboard, much to the delight of Shaq and Barkley. After shooting 7-of-11 from beyond the arc in Game 1, Smith shot 0-of-5 in Games 2 and 3 before ending his cold streak in Game 4 with a 1-of-3 performance. His eventual guess was slightly off, but that did not stop Barkley from roasting Smith.

The Chuckster asked Kenny sarcastically how he managed to hit only one three-pointer in three games. Smith responded to the trolling by hitting Chuck in his weak spot, “I don’t count shots. I count rings.”

Smith’s response was a jibe at Barkley, who famously failed to win an NBA title during his illustrious career. The Hall of Famer did not take offense to his crewmate’s diss and let it slide, but it’s becoming the go-to response for O’Neal and Smith whenever they disagree with or want to roast Barkley on the sets of TNT.

Shaquille O’Neal’s history of dissing Charles Barkley’s ringless career

Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley are close friends and love ribbing each other all the time. But whenever the Los Angeles Lakers legend loses a battle of wits against the former Phoenix Suns superstar, he uses their championship tally as a rebuttal.

For instance, in a segment on Inside The NBA, Ernie Johnson quizzed O’Neal about the reason behind his jersey numbers. When Shaq was asked why he wore 36 for the Celtics, Barkley quipped, “That’s how many points he had in a month.”  Johnson then asked O’Neal about the reason behind picking 33 when he joined the Cavaliers. Barkley then added, “That’s how many points he had in two months.” A visibly irked O’Neal responded, “Like I got four rings and you got none?”

Barkley let it slide and continued having fun, but O’Neal’s sensitivity was on full display. In fact, the Hall of Famer has used the rebuttal so often after getting outwitted that long-time viewers can predict when he’s about to use it.

O’Neal continues to use the tired trope against Barkley, who has grown accustomed to hearing it and no longer responds to it. He just continues making his point or poking fun at the four-time NBA champion.