Houston Rockets legend and 2x NBA champion Kenny Smith recently appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live and talked about his new book and his playing career. During his college days, Smith was a part of the University of North Carolina’s Tar Heels basketball team, the same team where Michael Jordan also played during his collegiate career. Not many might be familiar, but MJ, as a junior in college, urged Kenny Smith to join UNC when he was on his recruiting trip to visit potential campuses.
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As a New Yorker, Smith noticed the thick southern accent of Michael Jordan, a native of North Carolina. Speaking to the late-show host Jimmy Kimmel, Smith amusingly described his first impression of the future-6x NBA champion,
“I was on my recruiting trip, and he [Michael Jordan] and another player, Buzz Peterson, were my guides. But he was Mike Jordan, not Michael…Very southern. I’m from New York City, so we say [Michael Jordan]he’s a country bumpkin.”
Jimmy Kimmel was beyond surprised to learn that Kenny Smith made a funny remark for Jordan just days after noticing his way of speaking while he was a freshman.
MJ was one of Smith’s earliest recruiters and a motivator for the Rockets legend to pursue a successful NBA career. Smith was often told by his father to have the ‘Eye of the Tiger’ to be a great basketball player. When Jordan was driving around Smith in his car, he tried motivating Smith by playing the Eye of The Tiger song by Survivor. Smith reacted to this uncanny coincidence,
“He didn’t know my dad had ever said that. And I was like, Oh, this is not a coincidence. I’m coming to North Carolina!” Jordan’s competitive and motivating nature transcended to Smith, who joined the Tar Heels as a point guard.
Smith also credits himself as the first-generation player to bring rap and hip-hop music to the Tar Heels locker room. The 2x champion claimed that there were no rap or hip-hop stations in North Carolina before he arrived. Smith proudly recalled how he used to blast rap music throughout the campus, carrying a boombox.
As someone from Queens, New York, Smith could easily leave a good impression through his trends, which rubbed off on his teammates. The former NBA point guard recalled how he would overcharge some of his teammates, who would pay him to get them sneakers and other goodies back from New York.
Kenny Smith used to overcharge his teammates
Kenny Smith had deeply impacted his teammates by bringing the New York culture to the Tar Heels locker room. New York is often considered the Mecca of basketball and the hub of every goodies and merchandise related to the game. Hence, whenever Kenny Smith used to go back home to NYC, his teammates would often pay him money to buy them Adidas Sneakers in various color variations from New York.
However, many of his teammates didn’t realize that Smith was overcharging them to get them their desired sneakers. This way, Smith made a lot of money from the growing demand for exclusive shoes and sneakers on campus. Smith and Jordan continued being close friends even after college and their playing careers in the league.
Jordan often engaged in friendly banter and jokes with the TNT analyst through text messages or in person. Smith surely left a stunning impact on all of his teammates at UNC, the same way he charms and captivates audiences and fans as an analyst on TNT’s Inside the NBA show.
